Internal Damage
by criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak
Summary: An old case comes back to haunt Morgan when he and Reid return from Chicago. Someone's out for revenge and he's doing everything he can to hurt Morgan emotionally and physically. M/R slash! Minor violence. 7th in my Morgan/Reid series!
1. It's a Death Threat

**A/N: I'm alive again! Sadly, I still do not have internet at my house, but I have obtained a semi-stable place of free computer access for which to update: my college's distance learning center. Technically, I'm not starting classes until August, BUT my brother is taking summer classes thru the same ppl and so… I get a free pass to do whatever until I actually have to do real college work XD**

**So, I will (hopefully) be able to use this computer lab at least a couple times a week to give you guys what I know you've been waiting for: Morgan and Reid! Lol.**

**And finally, FINALLY, JJ finds out about their relationship. Man, they took forever to tell her. Plus, they actually work in this fic too! It's a miracle, huh? LOL.**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoy it!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><span>Ch. 1: It's A Death Threat<span>

Morgan and Reid arrived at work the morning after they got back from Chicago, tired and stiff from lack of sleep and an incredibly long drive home. Morgan was muttering under his breath and rubbing his shoulder irritably, but Reid ignored him, having already told him that if he had let him drive he wouldn't be in the pain he was in now.

"You two look cheerful," Prentiss said, a smile twitching her lips as she sat down at her desk, eyeing them curiously. Morgan grumbled something unintelligible, leaning against Reid's desk and frowning at the floor.

Reid sighed, shaking his head. "He's in a bad mood because he didn't sleep much last night, because his shoulder was sore from all the driving."

"Why didn't you just let Reid drive?" Prentiss asked, raising a brow.

Morgan glared at her, "Because I didn't." he muttered. "I wasn't expecting my shoulder to still be so tense. And it wouldn't be as bad as it is if _someone _would've been kind enough to massage it last night."

"Ok, this is a conversation I don't want to hear," Prentiss said abruptly, turning and facing the pile of paper work on her desk rather than listen to the couple argue.

Reid ignored Morgan's comment and started to do his own paper work, when he looked up and nudged Morgan in the side gently. "There's JJ." He said, nodding toward the blond liaison who had just walked into the BAU. "We still haven't told her."

Morgan sighed, all traces of his earlier irritability gone as he watched the woman walk toward her office. "It's now or never, I guess…" he sighed.

Reid looked nervous as he stood and Prentiss grinned slightly, thrilled that they were finally going to tell JJ; she was sick of having to keep it a secret from the other agent, lying was starting to become wearing on her.

Morgan tapped lightly on JJ's door and waited for her to respond before he and Reid entered and closed the door behind them. She looked up and grinned when she spotted them, "You're back!" she stood and moved around her desk to hug the two men. "It feels like it's been years since I saw you two… where were you?"

They glanced at each other, Reid chewing on his lip for a moment before they replied, "Chicago," at the same time.

"You were both in Chicago?" she raised a brow, a small, confused smile on her face as she watched the two other agents.

"Sara was getting married," Morgan explained slowly.

"Right, Prentiss told me about that. Tell her I said congratulations," she smiled.

Morgan smiled too, nodding. "And… I took Reid with me."

JJ eyed the two of them, what looked like a smirk fighting to emerge on her face. "You took Reid to your sister's wedding?" she asked.

"Well… yeah. The thing is… and we're really sorry we haven't told you yet, but… well… Reid and I are…" Morgan fumbled, slightly thrown off by JJ's calm expression. "We're together."

They'd expected a reaction; they'd gotten varying decrees of surprise and glee - in Garcia's case at least - from everyone on the team thus far, but JJ just stood there, that faint smile on her face, looking calm as ever. "And?" she asked, looking somewhat confused.

"And what?" Reid asked, frowning. "You aren't surprised?"

"No." JJ shook her head. "You two have been dating for a few months now, haven't you?" she asked.

Morgan blinked, "Y-Yeah… but, how -?"

JJ smiled, "I've known for a while, Morgan. I just figured you'd tell me when you were ready to tell me."

"How long have you known?" Reid demanded, a frown on his face.

"Ever since we had that get-together at my place a few months ago. You two couldn't keep your eyes off of each other the entire night and Reid had a hickey, but you said he'd stayed at your place the night before…" JJ explained, her blue eyes twinkling. "I put two and two together."

"You've known that long and never said anything?" Morgan demanded, sounding a little angry.

"I told you, I thought you'd tell me when you were ready. I expected you to tell the whole team at once, but apparently, you've told everyone but me." She looked slightly hurt then, folding her arms over her chest.

"We were going to tell you and Rossi together when we got back medical leave," Reid explained hurriedly.

"But you were sick, so we were going to wait." Morgan added. "Except… Rossi caught us kissing in the supply closet…"

JJ barely held back a laugh, eyeing the two of them curiously.

"It's not what you think!" Reid rushed to explain. "We were looking for cups for the break room and the door slammed shut and… and I got a little scared and Morgan … and we kissed and then Rossi opened the door." He frowned, looking down, blush heating his face as JJ got more and more amused.

"And Hotch sort of demanded that we tell him," Morgan added, "When we were in the hospital."

"Prentiss walked into our hotel room and Morgan was on top of me and she figured it out." Reid added.

"And Garcia found out the morning of the party at your house." Morgan remembered. "So… I mean, we actually only _told _Hotch before you, everyone else sort of… stumbled onto it."

JJ smiled, "Well, however long it took, I'm glad you finally decided to tell me. It's not easy to pretend I don't know something the entire team clearly knows." She said. She paused, studying the two of them for a moment, "I'm happy for you two," she added.

The two men looked exceptionally relieved, smiling at their friend. "We're happy too…" Morgan told her, taking Reid's hand in his own and smiling at the younger man, his dark eyes sparkling slightly.

She smiled back at them, shaking her. "I think Garcia's looking for you, by the way. Something about Brian Keller and a background check…" she looked at them curiously and Morgan and Reid made faces, clearly not excited. "You'd better find her before she finds you," the liaison warned, her own eyes twinkling as she watched her friends hurriedly leave her office and she sat down at her desk, shaking her head in amusement.

**~/.\~**

It took a while to get Garcia to calm down once she heard why they had wanted information on Brian Keller. She was seriously considering murder when she heard that he had attacked her 'baby boy', but they assured that Brian was where he belonged and everything was settled now, so she had no need to intervene.

"If you say so…" she mumbled, a frown on her face as she turned back toward her glowing computer screens. "I still say he should be beaten to a pulp."

Morgan chuckled, "I'll bet there are a lot of people who agree with you, Baby Girl, but that's not our decision to make. You just sit there and look gorgeous, alright?"

She smiled, "You always know just the thing to say." She laughed, her eyes twinkling slightly.

"That I do," Morgan smiled, nodding. "Now we need to get back to work before Hotch catches us and loses it, alright?"

She sighed, "Goodbye, my loves." She said, blowing them kisses and looking just a bit too depressed for them to simply be going back to their desks. "Send me a postcard."

Morgan rolled his eyes as he led Reid out of the room and the two agents made their way back to the bullpen. Morgan, despite being the one who insisted that they get back to work, stood around Reid's desk talking with him and Prentiss for a good fifteen minutes before finally sitting down at his own desk when Hotch exited his office and shot the younger man a stern glare.

Smiling slightly to himself, Morgan turned first to the mail that had been delivered instead of the paperwork he should've been doing. He had a few letters from old friends he hadn't spoken to in years, and a postcard from an old colleague on the bomb squad who was apparently in Jamaica.

His attention, however, was on the large manila envelope marked URGENT that had been dropped on his desk along with the rest of the mail. His name was on it, but nothing else. No return address, nothing. Frowning, he pulled the brackets up and reached inside, pulling out a yellow file folder with three words scrawled in black permanent marker across the top: Roderick Columbus CLOSED.

Blinking, the FBI agent opened the folder and was greeted with familiar crime scene photos and reports. He remembered the Columbus case… Roderick Columbus had been a small time thug in Chicago. He and his brother, Jonny, were caught during an armed robbery. Three people were killed; Derek's partner, a innocent civilian and Jonny Columbus.

But what on earth was this file doing in front of him now? The case was easily fifteen years old, he'd hardly been on the force two years before this happened… And Roderick had been arrested on the spot, there was nothing more to it. He frowned, closing the file and sitting it to the side, peering into the manila envelope to see what else was inside.

He found a folded piece of notebook paper with his name written on it. Frowning, he opened it and read:

_"You probably never expected to hear from me, did you Mr. big shot FBI agent? Well I'm back, and I meant what I said that night. You are going to pay for killing my brother. I'd watch my back if I were you._

_-Rod C."_

He stared at the note for about five minutes, not entirely sure how to react. "Morgan?" Prentiss watched him curiously. "Something wrong?"

"No… nothing." He shook his head absently, answering without thinking. What the hell was going on? He was about to stand and take the letter to Hotch when JJ briskly hurried out of her office and beat him to the unit chief. He didn't even have to ask what was going on. They had a case.

As they all gathered around the table in the conference room, Morgan still held the notebook paper in his hand, the words reverberating around in his mind. He barely heard a word JJ was saying as she explained that two local homes had been burglarized and the families killed.

"They were both African American families, the father shot in the gut twice, the mother in the head once and the children were smothered." JJ said.

"Maybe he feels the suffocation is a gentler way to kill them?" Prentiss suggested, frowning at the images on the large screen.

JJ looked unsure, but turned back to the screen and clicked the remote in her hands again. "There was something else… in both homes, in the master bedroom where the parents were killed, the killer left a message in their blood."

Morgan looked up frowning along with the rest of the team as the picture popped up on the screen.

In dripping, bloody letters was the message _"This is for Jonny." _Morgan felt his throat close in on itself as he stared at the words.

"Jonny?" Rossi murmured, "Do we have any idea who 'Jonny' is?" he asked.

"None," JJ shook her head. "Neither of the families have any known acquaintances with that name, but the local police are looking into possible gang activity. Apparently, something similar to this happened in a gang related initiation in -"

"Chicago." Morgan said for her. The team turned to stare at him, but his eyes never left the screen. "Fifteen years ago two brothers killed a family in Chicago in the exact same way. Six months later, they were cornered during a robbery and one of the brothers was killed. His name was Jonny."

"How do you know that?" Reid asked quietly, staring at his lover in worry.

Morgan slowly pulled the piece of paper out from underneath the table, "I got this a few minutes ago… I thought it was just an idle threat…" he handed the paper to Hotch and avoided Reid's penetrating gaze, hating the worry he saw there. It didn't feel right for Reid to be worried about him.

"What is it?" Prentiss asked, leaning forward.

Hotch stared at the paper for a long time before replying, "It's a death threat."

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><p><strong>EN: Hmm… this is taking a turn for the not-so-good, huh? And for once, it's poor Morgan who's being threatened… But don't worry, there will still be plenty of Morgan/Reid time in this as well, just a bit more angsty … but he'll need someone to lean on, right? Lol… I'm so messed up in the head, aren't I?**

**Don't forget to review!**


	2. This Is Torture

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of the fantastic reviews guys! You're all amazing! I loves you! :3**

**Yep, this story is gonna be packed w/drama and angst galore! LOL… I wonder just how far this 'Roderick' is going to take his revenge on Morgan? Hmm… three guesses how he eventually decides to do just that!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild language; probably some blood and violence…**

**REVIEWS = SMILES = MORE MORGAN/REID!**

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><p><span>Ch. 2: This Is Torture<span>

"Death threat?" Reid was the first one to speak, his voice quavering slightly as he looked from Hotch to Morgan with wide eyes.

Morgan still avoided looking directly at his lover, instead focusing on the table in front of him.

"I was one of the officers called to the scene the night he and his brother killed that family. We knew who it was within a day, but there was no solid evidence against them, we couldn't do anything.

"And then a report came in that a robbery was in-progress. My partner and I took the call and… Roderick and Jonny started shooting as soon as they saw us. A man on the street was shot and killed by a stray bullet and…" he swallowed, blinking back the memory. "And my partner was killed. And I shot Jonny twice. After that, backup arrived and Roderick had nowhere to go… but he went screaming that he would make me pay for what I did to his brother."

"So… did he escape or is he out on parole?" Prentiss wondered aloud, frowning.

"We'd probably have heard about a criminal escaping," Hotch pointed out. "He's probably out. And has likely spent the past fifteen years thinking of just how to get revenge."

Reid reached over beneath the table and put a hand on Morgan's knee. Finally, the older agent looked at him, shooting him a grateful half smile.

"How do we handle this?" Rossi questioned. "He's looking for revenge against Morgan and has recreated the murder he committed earlier to … show us what he's capable of?" It sounded like a question.

"He could be recreating the previous killings to let Morgan know that he's serious," Reid said. "And it's like a form of torture itself, killing the families and then saying that it's because Derek killed his brother."

"We need to get Garcia to run a search on Roderick Columbus, maybe she can find something for us to go on. And we need to talk to the local police, to make sure they know what's going on." Hotch said, frowning down at the note again.

"Are we keeping this from the media?" JJ asked, laying the remote down on the table.

"For now. Hearing that all of this is happening because an FBI agent killed a gang member's brother probably won't do the case any good in the public's eyes."

"Reid," Hotch added, "Can you look at this?" he held out the notebook paper. "There's not much, but maybe you can find something there."

The younger profiler took the notebook paper and nodded, "I'll see what I can find out." He said.

"Morgan, stay with Reid. The less you're outside, the less opportunity this guy has to attack."

Morgan made a face but didn't argue.

"Prentiss, you and Rossi come with me to the police station. JJ, for now you can help Garcia look into Roderick Columbus. If the media tries to get involved, deal with them. We might have to hold a press conference eventually, but let's try to avoid it."

As everyone filed out of the conference room except Morgan and Reid, the two profilers looked down at the case files in front of them. "Derek,"

"Spencer, don't. I'm fine. I'm not hurt, he hasn't tried to kill me yet."

Reid sighed, shaking his head. "But he will." He said, "He's waited a long time for this and he is going to try and hurt you like you hurt him."

Morgan made a face, "I didn't hurt him. He killed an innocent man on the streets; his brother killed my partner. I did my job. He was the only one who came away from it uninjured."

Reid looked down at the notebook paper, "Maybe, but the damage is on the inside, Derek. You took his brother from him. Think about it, if someone killed Sara or Desiree, you would want revenge and you'd do anything to make that person pay, wouldn't you?"

Reluctantly, Morgan nodded. "I know what you're saying, Pretty Boy. But this bastard isn't going to get to me. He's trying to scare me and it's not going to work."

Reid nodded slowly and turned his attention to the paper with the threat, his eye tearing apart sentence structure, word choice and even handwriting as he frowned over it. There wasn't all that much for him to work with, frustratingly, but he tapped his fingers against the table as he worked anyway, chewing his lower lip unconsciously.

After a few minute, Morgan let out a loud, dramatic sigh. Reid looked up, throwing the older man a questioning look.

"I never thought I'd actually wish I could do paperwork," Morgan said. "This is boring…"

Reid smiled slightly, "Try doing it for months because you're not allowed in the field, then complain." He said, turning back to the paper.

"Did you feel this useless?" Morgan asked, frowning.

Reid sighed, "Derek, you aren't useless. You're being threatened and it's safer for you here. Hotch will find something you can do while you're stuck here."

The older profiler sighed again, "I don't know how you do it, Pretty Boy." He said. "Sitting in the office, just waiting for something to happen because it's too _risky _for you to be in the field." He scoffed, "This is torture."

Reid laughed, shaking his head. "I'd say it gets easier… but it doesn't. At least you have me here."

Morgan suddenly grinned, "That I do…" he said, scooting his chair closer to the younger man and sliding an arm around his waist.

Reid sighed but didn't move his lover's arm. "Derek, there's a murderer out there who wants to kill you." His voice was suddenly not as calm and cool as it had been earlier. "And you're seriously going to sit here and act like you're not the least bit affected by that?"

Morgan frowned, "Let's say I was scared," he said. "What good would it do for me to act like I was? It would just be giving him what he wanted. And some punk-ass bastard who thinks killing families of innocent people is a way to show how worthy he is, isn't going to scare me."

Reid glanced back at him, a faint smile tracing his lips again. "Maybe…" he said slowly. "Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid while we're working this case."

"How often have I done anything stupid?" Morgan demanded.

Reid paused, "You drove an ambulance full of explosives," he said slowly. "You jumped onto a moving train, you've jumped into a moving van, you -"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Morgan frowned, "I get it. And you've done your share of stupid stuff too, genius."

Reid shrugged, "We're not talking about me right now, though. We're talking about you. So please, promise me…"

Morgan sighed, "Alright, alright. With the best of my abilities, I promise I will not do anything stupid. Happy?"

Reid smiled and leaned forward to brush a kiss over the older man's lips. "Very." He said.

Morgan smiled back at him, "Hmm… maybe I should make promises more often…"

Reid rolled his eyes, "Derek," he shook his head. "Could you focus, please?"

"On what? I've got nothing to do, the only thing I can focus on is you."

Reid fought back another smile. "Then focus on not distracting me while I work, alright?"

The older man sighed, sliding his arm away from Reid's waist, "Alright, fine. But what else am I supposed to do with my time?"

"You could go annoy JJ and Garcia."

Morgan made a face at him, "Spencer, you're the one who's annoying."

Reid let out a snort and shook his head, not replying to that as he studied the paper.

After five more minutes, Morgan sighed, fidgeting in his seat every couple of seconds. "I'm gonna get some coffee," he said. "I'll be right back, Pretty Boy."

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><p><strong>EN: I know, I know… not much happened. Next chapter things really start to move along though, I promise! (I hope anyway…)**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review! The little blue button needs friends and he said he'll give you that video Prentiss recorded in "Dance Lessons" if you click him!**


	3. Distrations Are Dangerous

**A/N: GUESS WHAT GUYS! I finally got internet back! YAY! I've revamped my entire profile, and am working on getting a couple of new fics ready to be posted! Plus, this means I shall be able to continue regular updates! Woohoo! XD**

**Thanks so much for all of the awesome reviews guys! I heart you! And of course, thanks to everyone who added this to favorites and alert as well!**

**Now, let's get on to chapter three, shall we?**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild language; probably some blood and violence**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

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><p><span>Ch. 3: Distractions are Dangerous<span>

Hotch sighed as he and Rossi climbed out of the SUV and stood in front of a small house roped off with yellow crime scene tape. Prentiss had been sent ahead to meet Reid at the first crime scene and JJ was at the station fielding calls from the press. Which, unfortunately, left a very irritable Derek Morgan alone with Garcia.

"Morgan," Hotch shook his head at the phone. "I know you want to be out here with us, but if this guy is serious, he'll take any opportunity he can to hurt you. We aren't going to let that happen."

_"C'mon, Hotch, I can take care of myself!" _Morgan insisted. _"I'm not Reid, you know."_

Hotch resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he and Rossi ducked under the crime scene tape. "Right now, I don't care who you are, Morgan. You're being threatened and the best way to counter that is to keep you out of harm's way as much as possible."

_"But you and the rest of the team are putting yourselves in danger!" _Morgan pointed out. _"What if Columbus rigged some sort of trap or something at the crime scenes?"_

"Then that's a risk we'll have to take," Hotch said. "We aren't the target here. You are."

Morgan grumbled something under his breath that Hotch didn't quite catch.

"What was that?" He asked, raising a brow as Rossi turned back to look at him, shooting the unit chief and impatient frown.

_"You could've at least left Reid here so I wouldn't be alone."_

Hotch did roll his eyes then. "You're not alone, Morgan. You've got Garcia to keep you company and we need Reid here. He couldn't get much from the note, it was useless to keep him in the office anymore."

The other profiler sighed, _"But still -"_

"Morgan, that's enough. You're staying at the office and that's the end of it. Until we apprehend this guy, you are in danger. I don't want to hear another word about it. Go help Garcia, ok?"

Morgan grumbled under his breath again before hanging up and Hotch sighed, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"You'd think he'd be more mature about this," Rossi mused as Hotch finally came to join him on the front steps.

Hotch shot the older man an incredulous look. "Morgan? Mature?" he shook his head. "I don't think anyone on the team would handle being forced to stay behind maturely, Dave. Especially when it's a case that's so close to home."

Rossi nodded thoughtfully as Hotch tore the tape at the front door and pushed his way inside.

The house was a disaster.

Colorful evidence markers still littered the floor and there were bloody footprints marring the carpets and tile flooring.

They made their way slowly upstairs, glancing around at the broken glass and discarded tools and toys that had been tossed and left haphazardly in the hall.

"Ok, so by all accounts this looks like an incredibly disorganized crime scene." Rossi noted, poking his head briefly into one of the children's bedrooms.

Hotch nodded, his lips pressed together in a tight line. "True, but he recreated this from the original attack fifteen years ago, remember?" He said, as he slowly pushed open the door to the master bedroom.

Inside, blood covered almost every clear surface. There were bullet holes in the bed, tearing open the soft padding and revealing the hard metal springs bellow. Blood had already seeped deep into the fabric and above the bed, still garishly clear against the pale walls was Roderick's bloody message, now dry.

"Was anything taken?" Hotch asked over his shoulder as he looked around the crime scene. Scattered lipstick containers, a hair brush and a couple bottles of perfume were littered around the floor alone with most of the contents of the closet, the door to which was standing open and partially off its hinges.

"They're still doing inventory, but from the looks of things, not much." Rossi said.

"Which means he purposefully made this look like a robbery, because the original crime was a robbery/homicide." Hotch said, turning around.

"And that makes him an organized killer." Rossi murmured.

"Which explains why no finger prints have been found, and the foot prints that were left behind don't have any tread marks in them…"

"He's only doing this to get Morgan's attention," Rossi concluded, shaking his head.

"And he won't stop until he's had his revenge."

**~/.\~**

Prentiss watched Reid as they headed back to the SUV after looking around at the chaotic crime scene. He had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of their search. "Reid," she turned to face him as she slid into her seat. "Are you alright?"

He blinked and brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face before nodding absently. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

She sighed and reached over, squeezing his hand gently before releasing him and turning the key in the ignition. "We're not going to let anything happen to him, you know?"

"I know," Reid told her, frowning slightly as he gazed out the window. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what are you worried about?" she asked, raising a brow and watching him closely.

"It's just… Derek's acting like this is just another case… he doesn't seem worried about himself at all."

Prentiss smiled, "That's just how he is, Reid. We're all like that. We don't want anyone to realize how vulnerable we really are, and Morgan especially doesn't want to seem like that."

Slowly, the younger man nodded, "Maybe. But I don't want him to do something stupid because he doesn't want to look weak, you know?"

She smirked at him, "I know someone else who's done some pretty stupid things during a case." She said, eyeing him again.

He frowned, "Granted, I sometimes don't make the best decisions, that doesn't mean Derek should do that either."

"He'll be fine, Reid. We'll catch this guy and put him back behind bars before you know it and you and Derek can go home and make out all you want."

Reid rolled his eyes at her and she smiled, "Don't tell me you don't, Reid. Rossi told me about you two in the supply closet last week."

A brilliant blush heated his face and he didn't turn to look at her as he spoke. "That… that wasn't exactly what happened…" he fumbled. "We got trapped in there and -"

"And decided to make out like love-struck teenagers, I know." She grinned when he fumbled for an answer to that and drove on, heading back to the police station, "Don't worry, Reid. I won't tell Hotch,"

He frowned, "I wasn't worried about you telling Hotch," he said. "I just…" he thought hard before continuing. "We didn't just decide to make out. I… It was dark and Derek was just trying to make me calm down…"

She nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm, well… I guess that is one way to make someone forget that they're trapped in a dark place…"

Reid's face heated again and he sighed, "Can you talk about something else? Please?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Sure…" she said. "Why don't you tell me who Brian Keller is, since you wouldn't when I called you and Morgan while you were in Chicago."

Reid groaned and leaned his head against the window, staring out at the city shooting by them and not even a little bit grateful for Prentiss's uniquely annoying method of distracting him from the fact that there was some insane convict trying to kill his boyfriend…

**~/.\~**

They spent a good part of the day simply trying to explain to the local DC officers exactly what was happening and why, and trying to trace Roderick Columbus's path since he'd been released from prison. Morgan was thankful to finally have something to do when Hotch asked him to speak with the Chicago police and call his old Sergeant to get everything they had from the original case sent over to Quantico.

They didn't find much, though. After being released Columbus became a veritable ghost, living in a one bedroom flat for several months. He was never late for his meetings with his parole officer and always showed up to work on time. He bought everything he owned with cash and only had a couple hundred dollars in a bank account.

As soon as he was free to leave the state, he went, as Garcia put it, completely off the grid. No phone records, no credit cards, no debit cards, no bank accounts. Not even an email account that she could find.

They figured he had more than likely taken an alias and was staying at a hotel, paying in cash, but there were too many hotels in DC for them to look into every customer paying for their room in cash, not to mention motels as well, and he might even be staying in an abandoned building or outside of the city. There wasn't enough information yet to give them any sort of solid lead.

It was late that night when they finally decided to call it a day. As they drove home, Morgan noticed Reid was being unusually quiet. He glanced over at his lover and sighed. "He's not going to scare me, Spencer." He told him.

"I can see that," Reid said, not turning to face him. He was holding his hands in his lap, his fingers tapping restlessly against his legs.

"Come on, Spencer, you can't expect me to give him what he wants."

"I don't. I'm glad you're not." Reid said, turning finally and looking at him. "But I'm worried about you, Derek. What if he decides to break into your apartment? What if he manages to shoot you while you're getting into the SUV on the way home tomorrow? What if -"

Derek stopped him, suddenly reaching over and gripping his hand. "Stop." He said slowly, his eyes locked with his for just a moment before he turned back to the road. "I don't want to think about what he could do, Spencer. He's not going to take me from you, no matter what he does."

If Reid hadn't been listening as closely as he was, he would've missed the slight break in his lover's voice as he spoke. Reid curled his fingers tightly around Morgan's and nodded slowly. "I know he won't. I won't let him… I'm just worried."

Morgan smiled slightly, "Don't be." He said quietly. "When you worry, I worry. And neither one of us needs to be worried about anything right now, because then we'll be distracted and distractions are dangerous."

They pulled into the parking lot of Morgan's apartment complex and climbed out, their fingers lacing together again once they reached the sidewalk. "Let's just get some sleep tonight, Pretty Boy." Morgan said. "We can think about this case in the morning."

**~/.\~**

Frowning across the street from the complex stood a tall, dark skinned man with a dark overcoat on. He had followed Agent Morgan home from the police station where he'd picked up another agent on his team.

He'd snapped a few pictures, thinking that the FBI agent was dropping a colleague off. Instead, he'd driven all the way to his apartment and now he and the other man were _holding hands?_ What the hell was going on?

He'd planned on leaving behind something to scare the agent, before he made his move the next night. But this was somehow so much more tempting. Agent Morgan had taken someone he cared about… so maybe he should take someone that _he _cared about. It was almost too prefect.

He held the Polaroid he'd taken of Agent Morgan and the other man walking together on the side walk and chewed his lip thoughtfully, scrawling a brief message before sticking it in the windshield wipers of the dark SUV and hurrying off down the street. Tomorrow night, he would get his real revenge, but tonight he would simply aim another blow at the Agent's pride, for now that was enough.

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><p><strong>EN: So… something happened, right? Just like I promised. And I'm fairly sure most of you figured out that Roderick was going to decide to take Reid as punishment for Morgan taking his brother, right? Thought so…**

**Anyways, let me know what you think!**

**And yes, there is more Morgan and Reid time on the way, I promise! They didn't spend much time together this chapter, I know. And I'm sorry for that, but they can't spend every waking moment together (as much as they want to) **

**Don't forget to review! There's more to come, I promise!**


	4. You Don't Always Have To Be So Strong

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews guys! And of course, thanks for all of the alerts and favorites adds as well!**

**I know there hasn't been a lot of Morgan/Reid time yet, which is making me sad too, but last chapter finished a lot of the basic introduction to the storyline, so I can actually get on to telling the story from Morgan and Reid's POV (with more of the team than I've done in this series so far) so I am making up for the early lack of Morgan/Reid time right now! I promise :3**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild language; probably some blood and violence**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Your opinions are much loved!**

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><p><span>Ch. 4: You Don't Always Have to Be So Strong<span>

Morgan rolled over, his bleary eyes falling on the red glowing numbers of the digital clock beside his bed that read 3:45 A.M. He rubbed his tired eyes and slowly sat up, glancing down at Reid lying asleep next to him. The younger man had gotten to sleep around midnight, and Derek had been lying awake ever since, his mind spinning with the events of the day that he finally allowed to catch up with him.

He hated to admit that he was scared, but he was. He didn't want Spencer to see him scared, because he felt like he had to be strong in this situation; he didn't want his lover to be even more worried than he already was.

Not only did he have the fear of what the next few days of this case would bring, he couldn't help but fight the guilt he was feeling about the families that Roderick had murdered. He knew that realistically, there was nothing he could've done to save those innocent people, but that didn't stop him from thinking: _"If I had just done something different, they might be alive."_

Lightly, he ran a hand through the younger agent's hair and slid out of the bed carefully, padding into the hall and to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter top and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and letting the fears and guilt consume him like he'd been fighting back since he'd realized that there was someone out there who wanted to kill him.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, thinking and mulling over the entire thing in his mind, but he certainly didn't feel any better once he walked into the living room and sank onto the couch. Instead of feeling more resolved, he only felt more worried.

What if something did happen to him? What if Roderick decided to go after the team to hurt him? What if he went after Spencer? The more he thought about it, the more he realized this was going to be nearly as stressful, if not more stressful, than the case with Buford in Chicago.

"Couldn't sleep?" A sleepy voice caused him to jerk out of his pensive state and he blinked tiredly, turning to see a messy-headed Spencer standing in the door with an understanding look on his face.

"I had to use the bathroom -" Morgan started to lie.

"No you didn't," Reid shook his head, taking a seat next to his lover and lacing his fingers through his. "It's alright, Derek. I'm scared too." He looked down for a minute before looking up and locking eyes with the older man. "But we can get through this together… if you let me in. You don't always have to be so strong, you know."

Morgan smiled slightly, gripping Reid's hand in his tightly and nodded. He didn't feel like this was going to be easy, but he felt better with Spencer sitting next to him. "Maybe I don't know how to be anything else," he said slowly, looking away for a moment.

The younger man scooted closer and pulled Morgan's hand into his lap, "Well, I can help with that if you'll let me." He told him.

Derek's eyes were still slightly distant, his mind only halfway on the conversation as he thought about the horrifying prospect of losing Reid, but he nodded and leaned into the younger man's embrace, lying his head on his shoulder. "I love you, Spencer."

"I love you too, Derek…" Reid whispered back. They sat like that for several minutes before Spencer stood and pulled Morgan up by his hand, "It's late, Derek." He said. "We should get back to sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be rough…"

**~/.\~**

They woke early the next morning, already not looking forward to going to the office, though they knew that they had too. Reid made coffee before Morgan was out of the shower and neither was in much of a mood to eat when Spencer's cell phone buzzed on the counter.

"Reid," he answered, pausing to glance at the caller ID and seeing Hotch's name on the screen.

_"There was another murder last night," _the Unit Chief told him. _"Not far from where the last victims were killed. Garcia sent the address to your phone, I want you and Morgan there as soon as possible."_

"I thought you wanted to keep him out of the field as much as possible?" Reid asked, glancing at his lover, who was watching him curiously, and feeling that worry start to bubble up in his chest again as he thought of all the things that could happen to Derek at the crime scene.

_"I did. But he was at the original crime scene, he'll have more insight into it than we will; he may spot something that's changed that we won't and it could be helpful. I want him to see the scene for himself."_

Reid nodded slowly, sighing. "Alright. We'll be there." He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned to face Morgan.

"There was another murder?" the older profiler asked.

Spencer nodded, "Last night. Hotch wants us at the scene; he said he wants you to see if you can spot any differences or discrepancies between these scenes and the original crime scene in Chicago."

Morgan sighed, clipping his phone to his belt and sliding his gun into its holster. "Then let's get moving," he said, snatching the keys to his SUV off the coffee table and leading the way out to the parking lot.

As he was climbing in the driver's seat, he spotted something shoved between the windshield wipers and frowned, pulling it out with deft fingers and turning it over. When he saw what it was and read the message left behind, his blood ran cold.

"What is it?" Reid asked, catching up and spotting his lover standing still as a stone beside the SUV, holding what looked like a Polaroid photograph in his hands.

Looking up, Derek passed the picture to him with shaky hands, feeling the fears he'd had last night multiply as he whirled around the parking lot without saying a work, his hand resting on the butt of his glock.

Reid looked down at the photo and realized what was wrong. It wasn't a clear picture, it was dark and a little bit blurry, but he still recognized Derek and himself walking toward the apartment, hands interlocked. And the worst part was what was scrawled underneath the photo in black writing.

"It says… h-he's going to take someone you care about because you took his brother…" Reid read from the white space beneath the picture. His voice cracked and he looked back up the older man, chewing his lip slightly.

"Derek, I'm fine. I'm right here." He told him as Morgan slowly turned back around to face him.

"But that bastard could be anywhere, Spencer." He said, snatching the photo from him quickly. "And he was here last night; he saw us together…" he paused, looking angry and scared at the same time. "I don't want you going to the crime scene."

Reid frowned, "I'm going." He told him. "I didn't argue with Hotch when he said he wanted you to go to the scene, and you aren't going to stop me from going."

"Reid, he could have set something there, a trap or -"

"And he could've easily have done the same yesterday as well, but he didn't. I'm an FBI agent too, Derek. You're not the only one who risks his life every day that you go to work. I can handle it."

"But I don't want you risking your life, Spencer." Morgan insisted.

"And you think I want you risking yours? He could've organized some sort of trap or bomb there to get you, Derek. Either way, it's dangerous for whoever goes there. And it's highly unlikely that he'd do that, considering how personal he's making this anyway. He'll want to see you break down."

Morgan sighed, his jaw tight. He didn't look convinced, but there wasn't much room for him to argue, so he nodded tightly. "Fine. But I want you to at least let me clear every room before you enter them."

Reid rolled his eyes and slid into the passenger seat, "Technically, that's procedure, Derek."

Morgan made a face at him, but felt a tiny smile twinge his lips. "Then it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, should it, Pretty Boy?"

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><p><strong>EN: So, a whole chapter dedicated to Morgan and Reid time… better? I hope so… Next chapter or the chapter after things may get interesting, not too sure. Still debating the existing plans for this story… things may change.**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. If You'll Let Me

**A/N: Thanks so much, once again for all of your amazing reviews and comments guys! I heart you! And of course, thanks to everyone who added this to favorites and alerts as well XD you all rock!**

**And now, onto chapter five! Woohoo! Read and enjoy!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild language; possible violence and blood**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><span>Ch. 5: If You'll Let Me<span>

They pulled up to the crime scene to see people, most of them still in their pajamas, standing outside in a small group around the bright yellow tape. Reid had just gotten off the phone with Hotch, explaining what they'd found that morning, and Hotch had immediately ordered them to get to the office, which both refused to do.

In the end, Hotch had relented and told them to be careful. Which was apparently not their biggest worry as they climbed out of the SUV and made their way to the front walkway, having to by-pass the civilians in the crowd, who were looking on in horrified awe at what had once been their neighbors' home.

"These people have a morbid sense of entertainment," Morgan muttered as they bent to go beneath the tape.

"Officers!" a voice in the crowd caught their attention as a middle-aged man ran up to them, his dark eyes wide, his hair windblown and his clothes rumpled. "Officers!" he called again and they paused, sighing and flipping out their badges.

"FBI," Morgan said, sounding exasperated already as they turned to watch the man fumble with a small recording device.

"Agents," the man blinked, looking slightly surprised, then licked his lips quickly and straightened his jacket. "Michael Fonteyn, Washington Post. Can I ask you two a few questions?"

"No, we're busy." Morgan muttered, turning and ducking under the tape, holding it up slightly so that Reid could pass.

The man frowned and continued anyway, "This is the third family murdered in two months; are you calling this a serial crime?"

Morgan scowled, his fists tightening as he turned to face the man. "I said we're busy. If you want a statement, talk to the local officers and see what they're saying."

"But, -"

Morgan growled low in his throat, clearly the stress of everything making him nearly ready to snap and Reid quickly put a hand on his shoulder, stepping forward. "We can't make any comment just yet to the nature of the crime." He said hastily. "We're just here to assist the local police in finding a murderer."

Before the man could ask another question, Reid quickly guided Morgan up the walkway to the front door, which stood open. Camera flashes occasionally went off and there were CSI techs marking evidence downstairs as they made their way through the entry to the staircase.

"Agent Reid," the lead Detective on the case, Detective Clive Everson, greeted them as they ascended the steps to the second level of the house. Reid had met Detective Everson the day before when he and Prentiss looked at the earlier crime scene with him.

Reid nodded his greeting, "This is Agent Morgan," he introduced the other agent at the detective's questioning look.

Detective Everson shook Morgan's hand briefly and led them the rest of the way upstairs. "Just as bloody as the other scenes," the detective said, shaking his head sadly. "I don't understand how someone could do this sort of thing, over and over again. Especially killing the kids."

The agents nodded their understanding, but both knew very well that there were far worse things that could happen to people, and hated to admit that they did, in a roundabout way, understand exactly what made people do the horrible things they did and why they were compelled to do them repeatedly.

They walked by the children's rooms, only glancing in for a moment and feeling the horrible weight of sadness engulf them as it always did when a case involved children, before briskly walking to the still open door of the master bedroom.

Inside, the bodies of the two murdered parents still lay in broken heaps where they had fallen. Reid shut his eyes briefly, feeling the nausea that always threatened to overwhelm him hit him for one second before his reflexes kicked in and he reminded himself that he was here to catch their killer and bring him to justice.

Morgan swallowed, feeling guilt wash over him as he stared at the bloody message above the headboard. This was because of him. He knew that it wasn't true, he hadn't caused these people to be murdered, but their murderer had harmed them because of something he had done and it made him almost sick to his stomach to think about it.

Reid shot him a reassuring look, probably guessing exactly what he was thinking and wanting to tell him that he was wrong and it wasn't his fault, that he had no reason to feel the guilt he was feeling, but that didn't change anything. He simply shoved the guilt and fear and worry back into that dark little corner of his mind, put on his work face and detached himself from everything that was happening. He'd become good at that, having spent most of his childhood pretending he was okay when he was really going through hell.

He looked over the scene with an almost clinical eye, taking in the woman's wide, staring eyes as she lay on the bed, a silent scream still there, somehow accusing him of some unnamed crime. The blood that had seeped into the mattress beneath her was also dripping its way down to the carpet below and her husband, lying on the floor because he'd apparently gotten up and attempted to fight their assailant, had the same bright red blood pooling around his limp form.

There were broken picture frames, torn clothes, shoes and notebooks scattered across the bedroom floor as well, some stained with bloody handprints that had clearly been placed there after the murders. He knelt and examined one of the frames covered in blood and scowled.

"It looks like he wore gloves," he muttered, glancing over to Reid, who was examining the body of the father closely from across the room.

"He covered his tracks," Reid nodded without looking up. "Hotch and Rossi said he probably wore something over his shoes as well, to cover the tread marks."

Morgan shook his head, sitting the frame down, unable to look at the smiling faces of the family that had been killed here any longer. "It doesn't matter though, does it?" he asked, a bitter edge to his voice. "We already know who did it."

Reid sighed and watched Morgan stand up, a flash of guilt and anger lighting behind his eyes as he tried and failed to look cool and calm. The younger man stood up and moved across the room to stand next to his lover, "Are you alright?" he asked quietly, glancing to the detective who stood in the room with them, looking over bullet holes in the headboard.

Morgan looked at him, a frown on his face. "I'm fine." He said tersely, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Reid made a face at his curt tone and shook his head, "Derek -"

"Look, Reid, I'm fine, alright? Didn't I just say that?"

Reid sighed and threw him one more disapproving look before turning back to the room in front of them. "Does anything seem different from what happened in Chicago?" he asked.

Morgan frowned, taking another brief look at the bloody scene and shaking his head. "No. There's two dead parents, a lot of blood, a lot of mess and their kids are down the hall dead too. Nothing's different except this son of bitch's motive." He snapped, turning before Reid could say anything else and storming out of the room.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Detective Everson asked, raising a brow at Morgan's dramatic and rather loud exit.

Reid sighed, "He will be;" he assured the officer. "He just needs some time to cool down." Silently, he added _I hope _and quickly excused himself, walking back downstairs and searching for his lover in the lower level of the house.

He found him in the kitchen, standing next to the sink. His fists were slowly clenching and unclenching and his breathing was faster than normal.

"Derek," Reid said slowly, quietly, trying not to startle him.

The agent whirled around to face the other man and pressed his lips together until they were a thin line across his face that rivaled even Hotch's most terrifying scowls. "I told you I was fine, Spencer."

"I know what you said," Reid told him quietly, walking around the counter separating them until he was right in front of him. "But it wasn't true. Derek, it's ok if you're having trouble. It's completely normal to be angry, to be scared to -"

"I'm not scared of this bastard!" Derek exploded. "Dammit, Reid, he isn't going to win. I can't let him."

Reid didn't even flinch at his lover's outburst, instead getting closer and putting a hand on his shoulder gently. "Being scared isn't letting him win, Derek, it's being human. Anyone with any sense at all would be scared when someone says they're going to kill them. Anyone who has the ability to feel anything is going to be pissed when someone threatens the people they care about. How do you think I feel right now? He's doing all of this to hurt you, and I can see that it is tearing you apart inside."

He paused, swallowing passed an annoying lump in his throat and continued. "And I hate him for using me to try and get to you, because I know exactly how much that hurts you and scares you. But I'm not going anywhere and I'm not letting him take you from me. You've got to trust me, Derek. I can help you, I can be there for you. If you'll let me."

Morgan sighed, lifting his hand slowly and enveloping Reid's fingers with his own, slowly removing them from his shoulder. "I know that, Spencer." He said quietly. "And I do trust you… I just… I don't want you to _have _to be there for me. I want to be able to deal with this alone, I hate feeling like I can't handle something by myself."

"But you don't have to, Derek. Don't you remember what you told me? That I would never have to deal with anything alone ever again because I had you and I had the team? That's true for you too. We're all here for you, we're all ready to do whatever it takes to help you through this, if you'll let us."

Derek smiled slightly, nodding. "I'll try." He said quietly, making the younger man smile as well, fingers tightening fractionally around his as they forgot the world and case they were working for a moment, staring into each other's eyes.

The moment was shattered quickly by the voice of Detective Everson, "Agents,"

Quickly, they released hands and turned to face him, shifting their minds back to work mode once again. The detective shot them a quizzical look before motioning to the stairs outside the door.

"We found something else in the upstairs bathroom; I think you'll want to see this."

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><p><strong>EN: Ooh, cliffhanger. XD ha-ha! I had to sneak one in, didn't I? lol**

**And another chapter of pretty much just Morgan and Reid! YAY! I'll get back to the team soon, but I got a bit carried away with the angsty hurt/comfort for a bit. Hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	6. What Kind Of Message?

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews and support guys! It really means a lot to me! XD You're all amazing!**

**So, last chapter was a bit tense, but not a whole lot really HAPPENED, did it? Of course… I did leave you guys on that teeny little cliffhanger… But that was just because I am me and enjoy being cruel. :)**

**Onto chapter 6!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild violence and blood; mild language**

**PWEEZE REVIEW! Pwetty pwease? (does talking like Tweety-Bird make this more effective? Lol)**

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><p><span>Ch. 6: What Kind of Message?<span>

"Are you saying that this guy is threatening Reid now too?" Prentiss asked, frowning at Hotch as he told them what Morgan and Reid had explained over the phone.

Hotch shook his head, "He's still threatening Morgan, but since he's discovered their relationship he believes that he can hurt him most through Reid."

"Which is true," JJ said adamantly, "And it would've been true even if they weren't together. But how are we supposed to protect both of them from this guy?"

Hotch sighed, "We can't keep them out the field, we need them. And they wouldn't want to be kept in the office anyway. For now, Morgan is still the primary target. We'll have to keep eyes on him at all times to make sure he stays out of harm's way."

"What about Reid?" Rossi asked, "Columbus is angry enough to go after him, and we both know that Hotch. He blames Morgan for his brother's death; taking Reid from Morgan would be the perfect 'eye for an eye'."

"I know," Hotch frowned and finally sat down, evidence folders and scattered crime scene photos littered the table and they had been going over everything they knew about the case so far all morning while waiting for Reid and Morgan to get back from the crime scene. "We may end up having to get protective agents for the two of them before this is all over, but hopefully we'll be able to bring Columbus in before things get that far."

"Alright, so what we know now is that he's angry, on the war path for revenge and blames Morgan," Prentiss said, twirling her pen around in her hands.

"He's planning to use Reid against him and is recreating the old crime scene to remind Morgan that he is the reason this is happening." Rossi pointed out.

"And he's got nothing to lose, which makes him extremely dangerous." Hotch said. "He's willing to take a bullet if he has to as long as he gets what he wants."

"Garcia still hasn't found anything," JJ said. "So we know he's using cash. If he's this focused on Morgan, maybe he'd be staying at a hotel nearby…"

Hotch nodded, "We have three crime scenes now, Dave why don't you and Prentiss start the Geographic Profile while we're waiting for Reid and Morgan."

The two agents nodded and moved to another table in the room, a large map spread out over it, beginning to mark their crime scenes carefully with red markers.

"He's smart, motivated, organized and calculating. Everything he does is just another punch in the face for Morgan," Hotch murmured. "Which means he's got some sort of plan, whether it's to kill Reid or to hurt him… he's going to do whatever he thinks will hurt Morgan most."

He paused, thinking, and narrowed his eyes, "But Morgan is still his main target so his ultimate goal would remain to kill him."

"This bastard isn't gonna quit until he has what he wants," Rossi muttered from the table behind them. Hotch pressed his lips together, hating to agree but knowing he was right.

**~/.\~**

Reid and Morgan glanced at each other warily, wondering what they could've found in the bathroom that was so important. They allowed Detective Everson to lead them upstairs to the small bathroom across the hall from the children's rooms.

The door sat cracked open and the detective stepped to the side to let them pull it open and enter. Inside everything seemed completely normal, the room appearing to be one of the few that hadn't been ransacked by Roderick.

But they turned to the mirror and realized what he was talking about. There was another message written in blood marring the reflective surface.

_"It ends tonight."_

Morgan glared at the message, his fists tightening in a way that said he was definitely ready to hit something and make it shatter, but Reid, who had gone pale at the sight of the bloody words, put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly.

"This bastard's playing with us, and I'm sick of it." Morgan snapped, whirling around and storming past Detective Everson and a young deputy who stood there with him.

Reid sighed sadly; worry nagging at his gut as he turned once more to study the message. He figured this time he would give his lover a little time to cool off and find his head before he tried talking to him; one thing he had learned from the months he and the other agent had been together was that it was often a good idea not to talk to Derek when he got like this.

"Any idea what he's talking about?" the Detective asked.

Reid shot a glance at the older man and thought about it for a moment before answering. "It means that he's ready to do what he came to Virginia to do." The detective and the officers working the case had been informed of the reasons behind the murders, though they hadn't told them that it was an agent on their team that Columbus was after.

He nodded slowly, "Do you think you'll catch him before he does anything more?"

"I hope so," Reid said, taking once last look at the bloody words before exiting the small bathroom and trying to ignore that growing sense of fear and worry that was nagging him in his gut. Everything was going be alright, because there was no way he was going to lose Derek, especially not to some bitter gang banger.

**~/.\~**

Reid didn't see Morgan again until they left the crime scene. They didn't talk much on the drive to the office, though Reid tried to get Morgan to open up he seemed even more closed off than before and it was starting to worry the younger man. Morgan tended to do stupid and reckless things when he was angry and upset.

They got to the conference room and found Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss and JJ going over the profile and working on triangulating the crime scenes. Garcia had set up with her laptop in the room and was busy running through a list of possible hotels and motels where Roderick could possibly be staying at within the area.

"What did you find?" Hotch asked as they walked in, carrying bitter cups of coffee, and took their seats at the conference table.

"The crime scene was exactly like the one in Chicago," Morgan said, his voice sounding tight and angry.

"Except…" Reid started to say, throwing a worried look Morgan's way quickly and wondering what the other man was thinking behind those clouded, dark eyes.

"Except what?" Prentiss asked, leaning forward slightly, almost able to feel the tension between the two other agents sitting across from her.

"Except that this time the bastard also left a message in the bathroom mirror." Morgan snapped, sounding bitter and angry.

"What kind of message?" Hotch demanded, sending Morgan a cautious look, knowing that he was more bothered than he was letting on.

Reid answered when Morgan didn't saying anything, "It said 'It ends tonight'." Reid said.

"So he's going to try something tonight…." Rossi murmured thoughtfully.

"He's not getting anywhere near my boys," Garcia said quickly. "They'll sleep here if they have to."

Reid and Morgan smiled slightly at that, but Hotch still looked worried and thoughtful. "We're going to have to come up with a plan to keep the two of you safe."

"Hotch, c'mon, I can take care of myself I don't -"

"Yes you do." Hotch said, his voice carrying a hard edge to it that left no room for argument. "I am not losing one of my agents because he was stupid and stubborn. You and Reid are going to have to go along with whatever we decide if you want to stay alive. Is that clear, Morgan?"

Morgan scowled, but nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."

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><p><strong>EN: I know, I know… it's a little short, but still over 1000 words. You'll find out what their plan is next chapter, I promise! And Roderick will make his move soon so expect some violence guys!**

**Reading the reviews has been soooo entertaining… I seriously love you guys! XD But keep your eyes open ppls, I may just surprise you w/this fic!**

**Hope you enjoyed this! Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	7. He Was Stupid Enough to Threaten You

**A/N: Thanks so much to all of you amazing, awesome, fantastic readers/reviewers! You're all amazing XD I truly appreciate each and every one of you!**

**And now, without further ado: chapter 7!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; mild violence, language and blood**

**PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! (Yes, I'm begging… I love your reviews that much, lol)**

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><p><span>Ch. 7: He Was Stupid Enough to Threaten You<span>

"It's obvious he knows where you live, Morgan." Rossi said, taking a seat at the table; Reid had stood and was leaning over the map, taking his place working on the geographic profile with Prentiss. "So tonight you and Reid definitely need to stay somewhere else."

"But he's also following him," JJ said quickly, "So it's not going to help much to put him and Reid somewhere else when Roderick could just follow them there and find them."

"We'll take turns standing guard," Hotch said, quietly and almost to himself. He wasn't really looking at any of them, simply staring at the table.

"Stand guard?" Garcia asked, a frown on her face as she glanced up from her laptop, still being frustrated by Columbus's irritating ability to have no traceable life.

Hotch nodded, "Tonight, we'll all stay together. We'll sleep in shifts and take turns standing watch. … Who has enough room for all of us?"

Reid, Morgan and Garcia were automatically out of the picture, all owning small, one or two bedroom apartments. JJ of course had Will and Henry to think about and definitely didn't want to put Henry at risk by having the team at her house. Prentiss's apartment was fairly large, but not big enough for the whole team…

Reluctantly, Rossi sighed. "I do." He said, volunteering himself even though everyone had already known he would be the one who had enough room to hold them all.

"Alright, tonight we'll all stay with at your place, Dave." Hotch announced.

"Alright, slumber party with Rossi," Prentiss grinned and Rossi looked like he already sincerely regretted admitting that he had the space.

"We can't leave at the same time because he'd follow us and know it would be too risky…" Hotch said. "Unless he plans on trying to take all of us out, which is doubtful."

"We can leave separately," Prentiss suggested. "Except Reid and Morgan, they leave last and together, that way Columbus knows that he doesn't have to go to different places to pull off whatever he has planned."

"So we all know the plan then?" Hotch asked, looking around the room, his eyes falling on Reid, who was standing beside the strewn out maps, looking slightly frustrated and unhappy, but having not said a word yet.

They all nodded, except for Reid. Hotch frowned at the young agent, "Reid?" he asked, causing the doctor to jerk out of wherever his thoughts had him. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you," Reid nodded quickly, assuring his boss. "But… I mean, maybe we should get Morgan to stay somewhere else. He'll be safer that way and –"

"Not a chance, Pretty Boy." Morgan quickly interrupted. "If you're going with them, so am I. You're in just as much danger as I am."

"But _I'm _not his target," Reid insisted. "You are. Hotch, come on, you know he's already risking his life enough, can't you just have him stay here or something. Columbus is serious about his revenge and he'll kill Derek if he gets a chance too, not matter what the consequences are."

Hotch sighed, shaking his head at the younger man. He understood why Reid was so concerned about Morgan; he could still remember how worried he had been about Haley when he heard that Foyet had decided to go after her… And look at how that had turned out.

"I'm not about to see either of you hurt," Hotch said. "And clearly, Columbus plans on hurting you, Reid, to get to Morgan. You're in danger too. We all are, really, if he realizes how close we are as a team. We're going to stay together and protect each other tonight, okay? No exceptions."

Reid sighed, clearly disappointed, but nodded.

"Good, now let's get back to work. We don't have much time. We don't how or when he plans on striking yet, we need to hurry."

**~/.\~**

It was probably one of the longer days they had ever spent working on a case. Reid and Morgan hadn't talked much, but it was clear that the stress of the case and their worry for each other was causing tension between them that didn't belong there. Garcia watched them sadly, shaking her head and being severely tempted to beat her laptop against the wall for not giving her more information.

JJ sighed as she walked into the conference room, it was already after seven o'clock, but they were all still drinking the bitter coffee from the break room. JJ took a sip and sighed, staring down at the table and thinking of the big pile of nothing they had come up with thus far. Even narrowing it down to a hotel within ten miles in every direction of Morgan's apartment, they still had a large list of possibilities and Garcia was having trouble getting into records.

JJ frowned slightly when she noticed Garcia looking at Morgan and Reid, who were sitting across the table from each other, staring down at files and not reading or speaking. Pretty much the same as everyone else in the room. They were all trying to find _something _while JJ had been talking to hotel and motel managers, trying to get a list of their residents without a warrant. Now, they were hoping Garcia could hack them, which is what the technical analyst was attempting to do when she let out a sad sigh and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked quietly, eyeing her friend carefully.

"Those two…" Garcia said, nodding toward the couple. "This case is pushing them apart. Derek won't let Reid in and Reid's worried as hell and they're both scared and angry, but won't show it."

"They'll be alright, Garcia." JJ assured her. "This is just a speed bump, you know? Everything is going to be fine."

Garcia smiled slightly, "How can you always be so positive?"

JJ laughed quietly, "I think it has something to do with being a mom… I refuse to believe bad things are going to happen, but prepare for them and know things'll get better when they do happen."

"All I know is if that sicko lays one hand on either of my boys I'll kick him where it hurts…" Garcia muttered, sounding angry again all of a sudden. JJ smiled slightly, her wide blue eyes sad and nodded her understanding, casting a quick glance at the silent couple once more before giving Garcia's hand a reassuring squeeze.

**~/.\~**

That night the team took off separately, all heading for Rossi's home out in the country. Garcia had managed to get into a few of the hotels systems, but either Columbus was smart and had given them a false name - highly likely in their opinions - or he wasn't staying in any of those hotels. They tried tracing back patterns to guests who had been staying since before the first murder, but the list was still fairly large and they had no real way of knowing if Columbus was one of the guests or not.

And after hours of working and coming up with so little, Reid and Morgan finally climbed into Morgan's SUV twenty minutes after Prentiss left to go to Rossi's. Reid was still eyeing Morgan worriedly as they pulled out of the parking lot, neither saying anything to the other.

Finally, Reid could take it anymore as he watched his lover glancing behind them in the rearview mirror every couple of minutes to see if there was anyone following them. "Derek," he said quietly, watching the older man stiffen slightly at his words and turn to face him quickly.

"What is it, Spencer?"

Reid was certain Morgan hadn't meant for the words to come out as harshly as they had and ignored it, staring at him like he had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. "I thought you were going to let me in, remember?" he almost whispered.

Morgan sighed and threw another glance at Reid, this one softer and sad. "I know… I just… I can't stand the thought of this bastard doing something to hurt you, Spencer."

"How do you think I feel?" Reid demanded. "It's not like this is all about me, Derek. He's doing this to hurt you. Do you think I enjoy that he's hurting you by threatening me? Do you think I like that you're being threatened? Because I can assure you that I do not enjoy that at all."

Morgan frowned as he turned right and shut his eyes for a moment. "I know, Spencer… I just… You know I have a hard time letting people see me when I'm… hurting."

Reid sighed and reached over, placing a hand over Morgan's on the steering wheel, "I know." He said quietly. "But we are a couple, Derek. You can trust me with anything, you know that. I love you."

"I love you too…" Morgan offered him a small smile. "And I do trust you, Spencer. I always will."

Reid felt a bit more secure now, but wished his lover would just open up and let all of his pent up emotions out. He turned to glance back at the road again, watching the headlights flash against the pavement and yellow lines shoot by quickly.

Suddenly, a pair of bright headlights lit up their rearview mirror and Morgan frowned, his eyes flitting to the headlights every couple of seconds as they sped up and got closer than they had been before.

Suspicion and fear eked into Morgan's eyes and he slowed down slightly, allowing whoever was behind them to get even closer.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked, eyes getting wide as he glanced nervously from the rearview mirror to his lover and back. That look in Derek's eyes was scaring him.

"Trying to find out who this bastard is," Derek muttered, his eyes narrowed as he watched the dark SUV behind them grow ever closer in the mirror.

"Derek, you don't know that it's him," Reid said, "And if it is, the last thing you should be doing is slowing down right now."

Morgan glance at him, a frown on his face. "Spencer, if this is Columbus… that bastard is threatening me, you and innocent families. I'm not about to run like some coward."

"So, what, you're going to let him catch up to us?" Reid asked, trying to get him to see how incredibly irrational he was being at that moment.

"No." Morgan shook his head, "I just want to see what he does. If it isn't Roderick, he'll just pass us. If it's not, he'll keep right on coming."

"Do you really think he's stupid enough to get that close when he's tailing us?" Reid raised a brow, questioning his lover's logic as they slowed another few miles per hour.

"He was stupid enough to threaten you," Morgan growled, glancing back in the mirror and frowning. The car behind them had slowed down as well now.

"See," Reid said, frowning as the rounded a corner. Morgan sighed, his tense muscles loosening slightly. He flicked his eyes back to the mirror again, but all was dark once again.

"You were right," Morgan admitted slowly, throwing Reid a look. The younger man was still slightly tense, eyeing him like he wasn't quite sure what to expect from him at that moment.

Morgan sighed, "You can relax, Spencer, I'm not going to do something stupid again, I -" his words were cut off by the sudden sound of a loud engine and a the crash of metal on metal as their car jolted forward quickly and Morgan tried to steer the SUV back onto the road as it spun wildly.

Before he could, they were jolted again. "What the hell!" Morgan yelled, his knuckles tight on the steering wheel. Reid was gripping the door handle and the dash tightly, his eyes wide in shock and fear as they were hit yet again, the SUV spinning off of the road completely as Morgan fought to keep in under control.

"Damn it!" he growled, snatching the wheel quickly, but not fast enough as the wheel locked up and the hit the guard rail and skidded quickly, sending them forward. Reid gasped, wincing as the seat belt bit into his shoulder and slammed him backward in the seat.

"Fuck…" Derek swore again before they were hit again and he slammed forward, his head hitting the steering wheel with painful force. Dazed and incredibly pissed, he jerked the wheel again out of instinct when they spun again across the road and slammed into a ditch, crashing into a tree.

The air bag exploded into his face, sending him flying back again, groaning in pain. He could hear Reid gasping in pain and fumbled for his belt, trying desperately to reach his gun. Damn it, his arm hurt like hell and his head was pounding, but he could just make out the sound of a car stopping and a door being slammed.

Footsteps crunched nearer and nearer and he fought harder, trying to yank the glock out of the holster.

Reid was trying not to panic, ignoring the blood he could feel trickling down his face and yanking violently on the seat belt trapping him in the car. He could see Derek trying to get his gun, but was pinned in the seat by the belt and couldn't help him. He saw a dark silhouette moving toward them and tugged harder, his vision already blurry and tinged with spots.

"D-Derek…" he murmured, wincing in pain.

The dark shadow moved toward Morgan's door and Reid gasped in pain, trying to reach out to his lover when he saw him life a hand and violently shatter the car window. He felt dizzy, trying to free himself and help Derek while only being able to watch in horror as the man busted the airbag and slammed his head roughly into the wheel.

Reid protested weakly, watching Morgan's weakened struggles before his eyes rolled back, the white startling against his dark skin. He could hear their attacker grunting, but his vision was quickly growing dimmer and as the footsteps came toward his side of the car, the last thing he saw was a shadowed face smiling down at him before he passed out.

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><p><strong>EN: Not the original plan… I was going to put that entire last bit in a separate chapter, but decided, what the hell? And I still left you on a cliffhanger XP ha! LOL**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	8. So His Name Is Spencer?

**A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews ppls! XD You guys rock and I love-ed you so much for being you!**

**I HAD to leave you guys on the cliffhanger, sorry! I have really missed doing that after being gone for sooooooooo long… It was too tempting to pass up XD**

**So, we all know you didn't click on this to read my ramblings… onto chapter 8!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, blood, mild language**

**PLEASE REVIEW! PRETTY, PRETTY PLEASE!**

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><p><span>Ch. 8: So His Name Is Spencer?<span>

Prentiss looked around Rossi's large country home in awe. "Rossi, why didn't you tell us you had an indoor pool and your own home theatre?" she demanded, a teasing frown on her face.

The older agent looked aggravated, "Because I see you people enough as it is; I don't need you badgering me at my home too."

Garcia quirked a grin, her laptop sitting open in front of her on the couch. "Ah, come on, Rossi, we could have rockin' parties here." She said, her eyes twinkling slightly.

Rossi made a face, already wishing he hadn't said anything when Hotch asked who had enough room for them. "I like to keep my partying to a minimum, Garcia." He informed the technical analyst.

"What you really mean is that you like to party alone, right Rossi?" JJ asked, a tiny smile on her face as she took a seat next to Prentiss on the leather couch.

Hotch stood near the window, peering out of the blinds and wondering where Reid and Morgan were. They should have arrived by now if they left fifteen minutes after Prentiss had. Yet he hadn't even caught a glimpse of headlights down the darkened road yet. A nagging feeling in gut told him that something was wrong.

Dave wandered over to where the Unit Chief stood, silently watching the window. "Give them time, Hotch." He told him. "They could've been delayed."

"Or killed." Hotch murmured bitterly. Rossi sighed, but tried to ignore the voice in his head telling him that the other man could be right.

"Maybe you should give them a call," he suggested. "Find out what's going on."

Hotch nodded absently and pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts list hitting Morgan's name. Rossi stood and watched as the Unit Chief frowned, pulled the phone away from his ear and dialed Reid's number.

He repeated the process several more times, the rest of the team silently watching as he grew more and more frustrated. Finally, he slammed the cell phone against the wall with a swear.

Hotch grabbed his car keys and started toward the door, a grim look in his eyes. "Where are you going." JJ asked, worry coloring her tone.

"To find out what the hell's going on." He growled.

"I'll go with you," Rossi hurried after the man, the girls throwing worried looks to each other, hoping and praying that their friends were alright.

**~/.\~**

Morgan groaned, his head throbbing as the world around him began to slowly come back to life. He had to think for a long minute before what had happened came back to him and his head jerked up, pain jolting through his skull and shooting bright lights behind his eye lids.

When he tried to sit up, he discovered that his couldn't move. He grimaced, frowning and tugged his arms, which were numb and yanked behind his back painfully. Groaning, he felt anger and fear grip his chest as he remembered exactly what had happened and he blinked several times, swinging his head around slowly, desperation bubbling in his chest.

Where was he? What had happened? And most importantly: Where was Reid?

He looked around the dark space, a frown on his face. He was in a small, dark room. The walls were metal and looked slightly rusted… maybe some section of an old warehouse, he wasn't sure. He squinted against the throbbing headache he had and tried to penetrate the darkness that was surrounding him.

Reid was nowhere in sight and he felt panic starting to set in as he tugged roughly against the bindings on his hands. The chair he was in scraped against the floor, but nothing else happened.

"Damn it…" he swore under his breath. Every part of his body felt bruised and broken and each move he made only intensified his pain. "Reid!" he called out, his voice cracking slightly. "Reid!" he yelled louder, tugging against the ties again.

"Reid are you here!" he bellowed, his voice breaking yet again. He was greeted by nothing but silence for several minutes, the sound of his own labored breathing breaking up the terrible stillness in the room.

Morgan wasn't entirely sure how long he was sitting in the dark, occasionally calling out for his lover, wondering what the hell was going on and whether or not he was hurt… before a sudden clanging, slamming sound of metal on metal caused him to look toward the wall opposite of his chair.

Directly across from him stood a door, now open. He must've missed it in the darkness. And standing in the partially lit doorway was the shadowed figure of a man… dragging another man. He heard harsh breathing and then a faint hum hit his ears as a light switch was flipped an a large, florescent bulb suddenly illuminated the small space.

He had been right, he was in some sort of metal room. Though, probably not a warehouse, it was too small. An old tool shed or a garden shed, possibly. The floor was stained concrete and the metal walls and roof were rusted and corroded with age and ware. But none of that mattered to Derek at the moment because he could now see clearly the man in front of him.

It was Roderick Columbus, dragging his unconscious boyfriend by bound wrists.

Morgan swallowed, horrified at his lover's appearance. He was bruised and bloody, a gash on his forehead dripping blood slowly down his face. His clothes were tattered and torn and his frail body hung limply from Columbus's tightened fists.

He'd wager that most of the damage done to Reid was from the car crash, but that still didn't stop his fury and rage from boiling over inside of him.

"What the hell did you do to him?" he demanded as Roderick drew closer and tossed Reid roughly to the ground in front of the FBI agent, only a few feet away from his shoes.

The man frowned, "I haven't done anything to him, yet." He said, the 'yet' and ominous and dark promise that made Morgan clench his fist tightly behind his back, wanting to jump across the few feet separating them and beat the bastard to death.

"Do you remember me, _Agent_?" Roderick sneered, his accent reminding Derek of Chicago in a way that was painful.

It took him a moment to answer, his eyes still glued to Reid, lying on the floor in front of him. "…Yeah. I remember you. And whatever it is you're planning on doing, do it to me. Leave Spencer out of this."

"So his name is Spencer?" Roderick raised his brows, looking down at the younger man on the ground and nudging him with the toe of his boot in the ribs. Reid let out a low groan, but didn't wake up.

"Leave. Him. Alone." Morgan growled from between clenched teeth.

Roderick smiled, a large, brilliant smile revealing brilliant white teeth. "And why the hell would I do that? Didn't you get my message, Mr. FBI? You took my brother from me… so I'm going to take something from you…. Before I kill you."

Morgan scowled, yanking against the ties on his wrists again. "Damn it, leave Spencer out of this!" he snapped. "This is between you and me,"

"Exactly." Roderick said, moving closer to the agent. "And I told you I was going to make you pay for what you did. Now you're paying for it." He was silent for a moment, turning back and glancing down at the pale young man on the ground again.

"Ya know," he began, starting to circle the unconscious agent. "I never pegged you for a fag…" he said. "And I really don't get why you're with some skinny-ass white boy either… But the second I saw you two together, I knew exactly what I was going to do. I'm going to take him from you, Derek. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

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><p><strong>EN: Is that technically another cliffhanger? I'm not sure really… I hate that I didn't actually get to any real action but chapter nine will be arriving soon enough and that'll make up for it, I promise XD**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	9. You Can't Stop Me

**A/N: Thanks so much to all of you fantastical reviewers! XD I know you're anxious to get to the story, so I'll try to keep this short, lol. You guys rock! I lovez you!**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, language, blood**

**PLEASE REVIEW! It'll save them faster (or slower, depending on how twisted you are…)**

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><p><span>Ch. 9: You Can't Stop Me<span>

Hotch and Rossi were driving for about ten minutes along the dark and empty road. They hadn't spotted anything at all so far and Hotch was growing more and more impatient by the minute. Rossi was sitting beside him, his cell phone pressed against his ear, trying to reach one of the two agents who were currently MIA.

As they rounded a curb Hotch slammed on the breaks, sending the two of them forward quickly into the dash. The guard rail on the side of the road was bent and dented, there were tire marks marring the road and on the opposite side was what had caused the agent to stop.

A dark SUV sat haphazardly in the ditch, interior lights on, both the driver door and the passenger door standing open, windows shattered. The front of the SUV looked like an accordion, the metal bent and twisted, paint forcibly taken away. And they had clearly been rear-ended numerous times judging from the damage done to the back to vehicle.

Hotch eased the SUV closer and pulled off of the road, not even coming to a full stop before he jumped out and rushed over to the wreckage, Rossi right behind him. The older profiler was hoping that this was just some freak coincidence and Reid and Morgan were on their way to his place now, having been stuck in traffic or gotten a little lost. Something mundane and completely understandable. Anything but this, really.

Hotch peered inside the vehicle, his gun drawn. He could see blood and shattered glass inside, the air bag had been slashed apart and so had both seatbelts. There were two guns lying in the floorboard. Morgan's glock and Reid's revolver. Rossi spotted both of their cell phones lying in the wet grass nearby.

"Damn it," Hotch swore under his breath, sorely tempted to punch something. He fought to reign in his emotions and pulled out his own cell phone - the screen of which was slightly scraped and cracked after having been slammed against Rossi's living room wall not too long ago.

_"Please tell me you've got good news," _Prentiss answered her phone without a greeting, clearly more upset than she wanted to let on. Hotch grimaced at her worried tone, glad he'd decided to call her and not Garcia… he didn't have the patience to deal with how horrified the technical analyst would be when she heard what he had to say.

"We found their SUV," he said. "They were hit from behind and ran off the road, into a tree. It looks like they were taken from here."

_"…Are you sure? Maybe they just left to… to walk and get help or something…" _Now he knew Prentiss was upset. It wasn't all that often that she was so incredibly in denial.

"I doubt it," he said, glancing back at the wreck with hard, angry eyes. "Their guns and cell phones were left behind and their seat belts and the air bags were slashed… the windows are shattered too."

_"Damn it," _the dark haired agent swore on the other end of the phone. _"JJ and I'll meet you there -"_

"No, you two stay with Garcia at Rossi's. Rossi and I are going to get a crime scene unit out here and wait for them. When we have more to go on, I'll call you."

_"Hotch, you can't expect us to just sit here!" _Emily immediately protested.

"I don't. I want you and JJ to help Garcia. She needs to go back through all of the hotel and motel registries that we have. Look for anyone who paid in cash and has been staying since the first murder at least. Start where we left off tonight and keep going. I don't care how long it takes, we're going to find this bastard."

**~/.\~**

Morgan scowled, fighting angrily with the ties on his wrists and getting more and more pissed off by the second. Roderick watched him with a faintly amused smile on his face before kneeling down next to Reid and turning his attention to the young man.

He reached out and Morgan felt fury building inside of him when he brushed the messy chestnut colored curls away from his face carefully.

"Don't you fucking touch him." The agent snarled hatefully.

Roderick laughed and looked back up at him, "And how exactly are you planning on stopping me, _Derek_?" Morgan hated the way he said his name, a condescending, arrogant tone to his voice every time it came out of his mouth.

"I swear to God, you lay a hand on him and I'll kill you." Morgan said, his voice quiet and deadly serious. Roderick just grinned at him, clearly pleased that this was effecting the agent.

"You've got it bad for this kid, don't you?" he asked, turning back and looking the young man up and down slowly. "He is kind of cute."

Morgan felt rage billowing in his chest and he yanked against the ropes on his wrists, only managing to break skin and cause the chair to scrape back and forth against the floor. "You son of a bitch," he glared at Roderick. "Don't you dare -"

"Relax, macho man." Roderick rolled his eyes, sitting back on his heels and watching with that amused smirk on his face. "I don't swing that way." He assured him before turning and looking back at Reid, who, to his delight, was slowly coming to.

As the young man cracked his eyes open Roderick beamed, "His name is Spencer, right?" he asked, throwing a glance at Morgan, who was watching apprehensively.

Reid slowly lifted his aching head, squinting against the bright light. His entire body ached and he was certain he had a few bruised ribs from the seat belt. "Wha- …Derek?" he murmured.

Roderick chuckled, "Aw, look, he missed you."

Morgan growled at the man, his eyes locked on Reid, fear and worry easily spotted when the younger man tried to push himself up and failed because of the aching in his body and the binds around his wrists.

"Hello, Spencer." Roderick said, that irritating grin still on his face as he leaned down and got a grip on the young man's hair, pulling his head up painfully so that they were face to face.

Reid grunted and tried to pull away, but his body didn't cooperate very well after having been put through so much already.

"Roderick Columbus," he breathed quietly, meeting the man's eyes. Columbus's grin widened.

"So you've heard of me," he said, sounding smug.

Reid kept his voice calm and nodded minusculy due to the hand gripping his hair. "Of course; you're the man who murdered all of those families in Quantico." He said carefully.

Roderick nodded. "And I'm the one who's going to make your boyfriend pay for taking my brother."

Reid licked his lips, studying the man before him and keeping his eyes away from Morgan, knowing that just looking at his lover would completely shatter his efforts at remaining calm. "You mean your brother Jonny?" he asked carefully, fully aware that Roderick could become violent at any moment and his brother was almost certainly a touchy subject with him.

He got a far away look on his face before he nodded. "Yeah." He said. "Your boyfriend over there killed him…" his eyes hardened darkly and his voice was razor sharp.

Reid took a moment to think, swallowing nervously and forcing himself to remain cool. He knew Morgan would not be able to be level-headed in this situation, so he had to try and be the one who kept calm. "What was he like? Your brother?"

"He was my best friend," Roderick said, that same nostalgic look flicking in his eyes. Morgan pressed his lips together, watching Reid's face and trying to not get angry listening to Roderick talk as he rambled on about how Jonny had always protected him from their father when he was drunk and how Jonny had taught him everything he knew and promised to always look out for him when they were on the streets together.

Reid wasn't looking at him, but he understood the reason for that, seeing the traces of fear and tension flicking in his lover's wide brown eyes as he stayed focused on Roderick. He was trying not to let his emotions distract him, something Morgan felt he was pretty much incapable of at that moment.

"And then before I knew it, he was gone…" Roderick finished his little speech about his brother with that angry edge returning to his voice. "And Derek Morgan fucking killed him."

Reid took another deep breath and thought quickly, "But… Derek was only doing his job, Roderick. Surely even you can't deny the risks of living on the streets, of being in a gang. Bad things happen…"

"That doesn't excuse him," Roderick snapped, his eyes darkening as he stood, letting Reid's head drop. Luckily, the young profiler was able to keep his aching head from slamming roughly into the floor and did his best to shove himself into some semblance of a sitting position.

"No, it doesn't." Reid quickly agreed. "But don't you think what you and your brother did was wrong?"

"We did what we had to do to survive." Roderick spat angrily.

"Killing that family was necessary for you to 'survive'?" Reid asked, not looking convinced and hoping that Roderick would see some logic, though he knew it was highly unlikely.

Roderick glared at him but didn't respond, instead turning to face Morgan again, some maniacal gleam in his eye that worried the man more than anything he'd said thus far.

"You killed my brother," Roderick said, his voice holding some sick form of anticipation that made Derek yank fruitlessly against the ropes again and growl low in his throat as Roderick began walking toward him until he was close enough to touch him.

He leaned down and got right next to his face, whispering in his ear now. "And I want you to know what that felt like before you die… I'm going to break that pretty little boyfriend of yours and you're going to watch every minute of it."

Morgan growled again, "Don't you dare touch him, you son of a bitch." He snapped, lunging forward, teeth snapping loudly in the room as Roderick grinned and leaned just far enough away to be out of the agent's reach.

"You can't stop me." Roderick told him, walking behind the chair, his footsteps echoing slightly against the concrete flooring. Morgan scowled, tugging at the ropes still, wishing he could see whatever that bastard was doing back there.

Reid, his eyes wide, was trying to see around Morgan, but his vision was still blurry and dark and he couldn't see much. For a brief moment his eyes lifted to meet Morgan's and the older agent pressed his lips together, hurt and anger flashing across his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Spencer…" he whispered, knowing Roderick could most likely hear him and not caring. At that moment, the only thing he cared about Reid.

Behind Morgan, they could hear Roderick chuckle lightly and he was approaching them again. Morgan watched Reid's eyes get even wider and the blood in his face drain completely away. He strained his neck to see what was going on but Roderick was already walking around him, standing in front of him. And in his hands he was holding a baseball bat, a terrible gleam in his eyes.

"I think this ought to get the message across for now…" Roderick grinned at Morgan, tapping the bat against the concrete tauntingly before turning to face Reid again.

"Don't!" Morgan protested, jerking harder against the ropes, feeling blood trickling down his wrists and between his fingers but not caring. He couldn't let this bastard hurt Reid.

Roderick just grinned and stared down at Reid, that light in his eyes flickering oddly. "I almost hate to do this to you… maybe if you had better tastes in guys, you wouldn't be here now though… so really, you put yourself in this situation."

Reid frowned up at him, forgetting to try and stay calm and not antagonize him. His eyes flitted to his lover's. "I'll be ok." He told him, "Don't worry about me, Derek."

Roderick laughed again, shaking his head. And then without warning, he brought the bat down, slamming it into Reid's already bruised ribs. The young agent let out a scream, though he tried desperately to hold it back. Morgan's scream was even louder, the skin on his wrists becoming more and more torn as he fought to help Reid while all he could do was watch helplessly.

Roderick grinned, clearly pleased at the reaction from Morgan, and brought the bat down again, slamming it angrily into Reid's thigh. The young agent screamed again, wincing and trying to get away from the brutal assault as another swing of the bat hit him in his back and his entire body arced upward, his scream tearing Morgan's heart to shreds.

"Stop! STOP!" he screamed. "Damn it, if you're gonna hurt someone, hurt me!" Morgan couldn't stand begging the man, but he couldn't stand watching Reid being hurt even more.

Roderick paused for a moment, his eyes glittering and grinned back at Morgan, "But I am hurting you, Derek."

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><p><strong>EN: Now I'm fairly certain that this doesn't constitute a cliffhanger… I just cut you guys off abruptly because I'm a fairly evil person who enjoys torturing her readers, LOL.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I feel like crying "Poor Reid" and "Poor Morgan" for hours, despite the fact that it is technically me putting them through this hell…**

**Don't forget to review!**


	10. You Loved Your Brother, Didn't You?

**A/N: Thanks so much guys! I love you soooo much for all of your fantastic reviews XD I know how ticked you are that I keep leaving you on cliffhangers (Hmpf, last chapter was *not* a cliffhanger!) but I simply can't help myself! Sorry!**

**So… I suppose you're all wanting to get back to Reid and Morgan and see how they're doing, right? Not to mention I suspect quite a few of you want to have a chance to viciously and painfully murder Roderick Columbus, correct? Lol, I guess I'll let you get back to the story now…**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, language, blood**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><span>Ch. 10: You Loved Your Brother, Didn't You?<span>

It felt like hours, though Morgan really wasn't sure how long it was, before Roderick grew tired and lowered the wooden bat in his hands. There was now blood spattered on the bat from where he had slammed it into Reid's face, busting his lips and likely breaking a few teeth as well, though Reid seemed to have been lucky enough to not have his jaw broken from the blow.

Breathing heavily, Roderick walked back behind Morgan's chair and placed the bat back where he had gotten it from. Reid was gasping for breath and spitting and coughing blood on the concrete floor in front of Derek, new bruises and broken bones causing him more pain than he really liked to think about.

"Spencer?" Morgan whispered, leaning closer and ignoring Roderick, who was watching from a few feet away. "Are you alright?"

Reid coughed and nodded, grimacing as he did. "I… I'm f-fine, Derek. I told you not to worry about me."

Roderick chuckled, "He's tougher than he looks, ain't he?" he asked, walking closer to the couple now. "Can I ask you a question, Spencer?" he looked down at the young, beaten man with a curious light in his eyes.

Reid eyed him warily but chose to ignore Morgan's angry death glare as he tugged on his bindings for probably the millionth time. "What?" he asked carefully, wincing as a sharp pain went through his chest with every breath. He was certain that the bat had broken a few of his ribs at the very least.

"Why are you with this piece of shit?" he asked, twisting his head toward Morgan.

Reid frowned, having to physically fight back the incredible need to tell Roderick exactly why his boyfriend was most certainly _not _a 'piece of shit'. That would only get him more pain and earn him nothing worthwhile.

"Because…" he hesitated. "Because Derek is one of the most genuine people I know. Because he's honest and compassionate and strong and stupid and annoying and smart and loving and stubborn and reckless and beautiful and tender and… well, because I love him and he loves me. Why else would you enter a relationship with someone?"

Roderick stared at him for a moment, frowning. "You're telling me you actually love him?" he asked, raising a brow at the young agent.

"Of course I love him." Reid stated, as if it should have somehow been obvious, and perhaps that was why it was so hard for Roderick to grasp the concept.

Roderick shook his head, "I don't know how you can possibly love another guy,"

"You loved your brother, didn't you?" Reid asked, frowning at him.

Morgan scrunched his brows together; what the hell was going on? One minute Roderick was beating the hell out of his boyfriend, the next they're having a conversation about love?

"Of course," Roderick said, that hard edge immediately catching in his voice.

"Well wasn't Jonny another male?"

"That's not the same thing -"

"Why not? You cared about him, you would do pretty much anything for him, you looked out for each other, you took care of each other, you had fun together, right? Isn't that love? That's why Derek and I are together, because we mean something to each other. You don't have to sleep with someone to love them." Reid said, his voice picking up in speed slightly. Morgan could almost sense one of his rambles coming on and was incredibly grateful that he stopped without being prompted to. There was no telling what Roderick would do if Reid attempted to bore the man to death.

"Interesting point, Spencer…" Roderick looked thoughtful. "I guess it's the sleeping with him part I can't understand… But that doesn't matter anyway." He yawned briefly before walking closer to the agents and standing directly between them.

"I think I've done enough damage for tonight, wouldn't you agree, Derek?" Roderick asked, raising an amused brow at the scowling agent's face.

"I think you need to let Spencer go and leave this between you and me," he growled at him.

"Not gonna happen," Roderick shook his head. "But I appreciate your persistence. It'll probably drag this whole process out even longer than it would've been otherwise. So, for now, tell Spencer good night…"

He reached down and took hold of the ropes holding the younger man's wrists together.

"What? No, leave him here!" Morgan protested. "Dammit, you've already hurt him enough!"

"I know. But you didn't really think I'd yet you keep him to yourself in here, Derek, did you? I'm not about to give you two the chance to come up with some plan to escape, and I'm definitely not gonna let you have a long heart to hear with your little lover boy either. You get to sit here in the dark and think about all the pain your putting him through because of what you did to my brother."

As he was talking, Roderick was dragging the weakly struggling Reid behind him, flipping the light switch off as he left and slamming the door shut on Morgan's rage filled bellows and angry threats.

Morgan slumped back against the seat, pissed off and more worried than he would've liked to admit. Once again, he found himself alone in the dark and all he could hear were his lover's pained cries and the sound of the bat hitting his flesh and breaking bones.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn." He swore over and over again under his breath, his entire body shaking in fury as he yanked viciously at the ropes on his wrists and suddenly he screamed as loud as he could, simply to break the silence and drown out the cries within his own mind.

He sat there for several long minutes before he finally realized that Roderick wasn't going to be back anytime soon and he could only think about what had happened to Reid because of him… Without realizing it, the fury that was shaking his body slowly turned into broken sobs as tears ran down his face.

He was grateful, then, that there was no one around to see him so broken and utterly defenseless. He hated the feeling that was washing over him of guilt and shame and fear and worry. They were emotions for weak people, and he was not weak. Yet in that moment he felt weaker than he had ever felt before in his entire life.

He sobbed into the darkness, alone, and occasionally called out for Spencer, wishing there was someway for him to save his young lover from the pain and torment that were sure to come when Roderick walked back through that door.

* * *

><p><strong>EN: I know, I know… a bit shorter than usual. Sorry about that guys, I just didn't want to put the next scene in this chapter, so chapter 10 had to suffer a bit. I'll make up for it in chapter 11!**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review!**


	11. Where's Spencer?

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for all of the amazing reviews! I heart you!**

**I have to warn you right now: there is some messed up stuff in this chapter, my muse got high while I was writing it and well… see for yourselves…**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, language, blood**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

><p><span>Ch. 11: Where's Spencer?<span>

Reid didn't bother trying to fight back as Roderick pulled him out of the small metal building where Morgan was being kept. They were in a more remote area of the city, but Reid was willing to bet they were still in Quantico, or somewhere just outside of it. He could see lights from neighboring house, though they were just far enough away that his screams couldn't be heard.

Roderick dragged him towards a small house a couple hundred yards away from the tool shed - which was what Reid assumed the little building had been at one point - and fumbled with the latch at the backdoor for a moment before pulling him inside.

He dragged him through a small kitchen and into a slightly more spacious living room, setting him down on the couch and turning to grab something from the coffee table. Reid almost panicked when he saw that it was a knife, but Roderick just rolled his eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. "It's not doing me any good if your boyfriend out there doesn't get to watch. Hold out your hands."

Reluctantly, Reid held his hands out and watched with a confused frown as Roderick carefully cut through the rope that was binding his wrists together. As the ties fell away, Reid pulled his hands back quickly and surveyed the damage done.

They were a little chaffed and bruised, but he had far worse injuries to deal with currently, so he was grateful there wasn't anything worse. Spencer looked back up at Roderick, who was watching him with a strange light in his eye.

"Why did you untie me?" he asked slowly, not entirely sure that he was going to like the answer should he receive one.

"It's not like you can do much damage as hurt as you are, Spencer." Roderick answered and Reid felt himself relax just a little bit. "Besides, I've got these to keep you from running anywhere." He continued, holding up a pair of handcuffs that had to have come from either him or Derek.

Reid watched apprehensively as Roderick slid one side of the gleaming silver cuffs around his left hand and the other around the leg of the couch, forcing him to lay down in a slightly awkward position, his shoulder straining and protesting at the arrangement.

He was visibly tense until the other man finally sat down across from him in an arm chair and stared at him for the longest moment, clearly deep in thought.

Reid took the time to try and think of some way out of this situation that would leave him and Morgan alive. Clearly, it wasn't going to be easy to get through to the angry man, but there had to be some way to get out. To escape. If he could just get out of these cuffs and find a weapon, maybe …

"Derek seems like a jealous boyfriend, you know that Spencer?"

Reid blinked, confused. "What?" he asked, turning his head slightly to get a better view of the other man.

Roderick looked thoughtful still, and turned his dark eyes on Spencer, making the younger man feel extremely uncomfortable. "How do you think he'd react to me touching you? Sexually?"

Reid paled and his eyes got impossibly wide, "Wh-What? No… I… don't…. you…" he fumbled, unable to get words out coherently with the fear starting to build inside of his chest. God, this could not be happening.

"Relax," Roderick rolled his eyes again. "I'm not going to, Spencer. I'm not gay, and even if I was… I would certainly have better tastes."

Reid scowled, trying to ignore the insult and figure out what the hell the man was getting at. "Then why -"

"I don't have to rape you to make him think I did." Roderick explained, leaning forward in his chair.

Reid frowned, "I'm not going to tell Derek you raped me." He said stubbornly. He knew that would not be received well by his lover, especially considering everything that Derek had been through as a child.

Roderick chuckled, "I don't expect you to." He said. "At least, not without some persuasion first. I have the feeling you don't want me to hurt Agent Morgan… right?"

"I… no, I don't. But you're already planning on killing him, aren't you?"

Roderick shrugged, "You got a point? The way I see it, you're not in much of a position to argue. But if you want to keep me from doing anything to hurt your boyfriend, you'll go along with me on this."

Reid chewed his lip ultimately couldn't stand the idea of helping that bastard hurt Derek that way. He knew eventually Roderick wouldn't be able to focus his anger on him and he would have to turn to Morgan and get the revenge he really wanted, so what good was allowing him to think he'd been violated like that going to do? None.

Slowly, the young agent shook his head. "I can't do that to him." He said, making it clear that there was no way he was going along with this torture. Roderick could do whatever he wanted to him, he wasn't about to put his lover through that hell.

Roderick sighed, "You don't have much of a choice, though, do you?"

"You can beat me if you want to, kill me if you think that's what it'll take, I can't put Derek through that. I won't." Reid insisted, shaking his, meeting the other man's eyes and not looking away.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to tell him myself… and make it damn well convincing if I want him to believe it."

"What?" Reid frowned, his brows coming down over his eyes as Roderick stood.

"You're not gonna see lover boy for a while. Not until I decide he's suffered enough. And then… well, then it'll all be over." Roderick said ominously before standing and heading upstairs, leaving the young profiler cuffed to the couch, confused and worried about what the other man could be planning.

**~/.\~**

It was early morning, the sky a light grey color, clouds black and threatening to overflow on top of the agents gathered outside around the spot where their friends had crashed the night before.

"Has Garcia found anything?" Hotch asked, turning to Prentiss and JJ who had arrived about a half hour earlier, finally having convinced their boss that they were more useful at the scene and in the office than sitting at Rossi's with Garcia.

"She's looking, Hotch; you've got to realize none of us have slept at all yet. She's got a list of about twenty possible right now, but that's not going to do us much good anymore."

"It's not?" JJ frowned, glanced toward her friends with a small frown on her face.

Hotch sighed, shaking his head. "Not if he's taken them. He can't keep Reid and Morgan in a hotel room… or even a motel room… and get his revenge without being heard by someone. He's going to need a slightly more private place. A house, more than likely."

"So all the work we've done now is for nothing?" JJ asked, her face falling as she thought of the hours that Reid and Morgan had been alone with this psycho.

"No, not for nothing. Finding out what hotel he was staying in could help us narrow down the area for where he could be keeping them now. He's probably still somewhere in the area." Rossi said, looking around at the torn up grass, the skid marks on the road and the dented guard rail.

"Where would he be staying?" Prentiss asked, frowning. "He doesn't have a home or apartment anywhere near here, his last known residence was in Chicago."

"…But maybe someone he knows does." Hotch murmured, turning around suddenly and pulling out his cell phone.

"Garcia? I need you to look into any family or friends that Roderick Columbus may have in the area. As soon as possible."

**~/.\~**

Morgan woke slowly, his head spinning, neck aching. He sat up straighter and looked around the dark space. He couldn't make out much, the darkness still thick as a woolen blanket. His whole body was aching from having spent the night in the chair and he desperately wanted to be able to stand up and stretch his stiff muscles.

His wrists were burning from the ropes rubbing against the torn skin and he could feel dried blood tugging and cracking at the wounds.

Across from him, he spotted a thin sliver of grey-ish light that told him it was likely early morning and Roderick would probably be returning soon. With Reid. And he would hurt him again.

Swearing under his breath, Morgan shifted in the hard, uncomfortable chair and winced as the roped scraped against his skin again. He swung his head around, trying to find something that would help him. Some weapon, some means of escape. Anything that he could use against the bastard.

His head jerked toward the door again when he heard the telltale sounds of the door being pushed against the concrete floors. Swallowing, Derek steeled himself for what he knew was about to happen, his fists tightening involuntarily as Roderick stepped inside and shut the door.

Morgan scowled, confusion and fear flickering in his eyes. "Where's Spencer?" he demanded instantly when he realized that the young man wasn't with him.

"Spencer? Oh… he won't be joining us right now, Derek. He's a bit… worn out." An evil grin flickered across Roderick's face as he stepped closer to the agent.

"What did you do to him, you son of a -"

"What did I do to him? Hmm…" his grin grew wider and his eyes flickered again. "Are you sure you really want to know?"

* * *

><p><strong>EN: Um… that's not a cliffhanger…? How many of you guys actually buy that?**

**Sorry, I had to do it, I just HAD to.**

**And just so everyone is on the same page: Roderick is NOT going to rape Reid. As much as I write poor Spencer getting raped, this won't be one of those stories, I assure you. **

**So, hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

**Don't forget to review!**


	12. I Was Trying to Understand You, Derek

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews guys! I heart you! :)**

**You are seriously the most amazing people on the entire planet (and I'm being serious, lol)**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, blood, language**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

><p><span>Ch. 12: I Was Trying to Understand You, Derek<span>

Morgan stared at the other man, apprehensive and worried. Roderick wouldn't have killed Reid, would he? Not without forcing him to watch at least…

Licking his lips nervously, Morgan quickly turned his glare back on to hide the fear that was starting to trickle into his chest. "What did you do to Spencer?" he demanded again, his dark eyes hard and cold and angry.

Roderick grinned again, like he had a secret and he was just bursting to let it out. He walked closer to the chair Derek was sitting in and planted himself on the concrete floor, folding his legs underneath himself and looking up at him with a smirk on his face.

"I was trying to understand you, Derek." He said slowly. "And it occurred to me, that there are some things I still didn't quite have a grasp on yet. Like why you would sleep with another guy. Granted, Spencer is a, uh… pretty sort of man, isn't he?"

He raised a brow and grinned at the growl Morgan emitted before continuing. "So I started thinking… how can I understand this insane attraction that you have to another dude. And I tried to look at it from your point of view, you know. Spencer's a fairly attractive guy… slender and soft, like a woman." Another evil grin and a hateful growl from Morgan as his heart hammered in his chest.

Dear God, there was no way Roderick had done _that _to Spencer.

"So, last night after I took your little boyfriend away, I decided there was only one way for me to fully appreciate your attraction to him."

Morgan's heart nearly stopped. "You…" he couldn't get the words out, his throat was tight as his mind was suddenly assaulted with horrible images of Roderick forcing himself onto Reid. God no…

"He wasn't too thrilled with idea, Derek, I have to tell you. And he's quite the fighter…" Roderick grinned widely again, watching as the FBI agent processed what he was telling him. "But I have to say… he didn't disappoint me either… I definitely have a better understanding of why you would want to be with some skinny little boy. He's probably the best fuck I've had in years."

"You son of a bitch!" Morgan screamed, yanking and tugging at the ropes on his wrists, trying with all his might to break them so he could rip this sorry piece of shit's heart right out of his chest.

Roderick stood up, chuckling to himself and listening as Morgan continued to scream insults at him.

"You sorry piece of shit!" he screamed, viciously fighting against the ropes. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Roderick just smiled, standing a couple feet away from the chair. "How Derek? You're tied to that chair and I've got your little boyfriend locked away for safe keeping. How do you plan on killing me? Or better yet, how are you going to stop me from leaving and taking Spencer for another ride?"

"You fucking son of a bitch!" Morgan screamed, wrenching at his wrists, risking dislocating his shoulders as the chair scraped against the floor and Roderick smiled at him, continuing to taunt him.

"Your boyfriend's a screamer, Derek, did you know that? And you should've heard him last night… screaming your name. Begging you to help him. But you didn't, did you? Because you couldn't. And you're never going to be able to help him again, Derek. I'll take him whenever I want and you can't save him."

Morgan wasn't even screaming words anymore, he was just screaming, eyes blazing, teeth gnashing as he tried with everything in him to free himself and rip Roderick to pieces. He didn't even notice the hot, angry tears falling down his face as he bellowed like a wounded beast, screaming as loudly as he could.

Roderick just watched and grinned wickedly at him as he struggled and screamed and cried. He had certainly gotten the reaction that he wanted from him. He had thought it would take longer to break the agent, but having Spencer here had definitely moved things along faster than expected.

Now it was just a matter of making him pay for what he had done. Once he was finished he would bring Spencer back and make him watch while he killed him. And then… Derek Morgan would be a broken man. As soon as that happened, he would also be a dead man.

Roderick laughed to himself as he walked around the angry, spitting FBI agent and retrieved the baseball bat he'd used on Spencer the day before. It was about time Derek got a taste of it.

**~/.\~**

Reid woke lying on the couch, his shoulder aching and stiff. Every breath he took came out pained and ragged and he gingerly felt his chest, wincing as he pressed his fingers against the sensitive area. He wasn't sure if there were any broken rips, but there were certainly some bruised ones in there.

He's spent a better portion of the night trying to escape without having Roderick hear him, and that wasn't easy. Apparently the man was an incredibly light sleeper. That or he was a vampire and didn't sleep at all. Spencer had to roll his eyes at that random thought before forcing himself to focus.

Right now, Roderick was out there in that tool shed telling Derek that he'd raped him. And while Reid was incredibly grateful that his story wasn't true, he couldn't imagine what that was doing to Derek, who would be pissed off and guilty and probably feel like everything was over and just accept the torment after that.

He wasn't about to let that happen.

Twisting his aching wrist, Reid looked around the small living room, spotting the knife sitting across the room on the recliner where Roderick had left it. Either he was incredibly careless or he didn't think Reid would be able to get himself free.

Which at the moment seemed incredibly likely. If he had something to pick the lock on the cuffs with, he could free himself rather quickly, but as it was he didn't have many options there. And he'd been looking. He had spotted several other weapons besides the knife, among them a hand gun, a machete sitting next to a small fire place and another bat, this one aluminum.

He growled to himself. Damn it, if only he could get out of these cuffs. He yanked against them again, fell the metal bite into his already bruised flesh and he cried out, biting down on his lip to keep from screaming as he tugged again, out of reflex.

He tugged a bit too hard and lost his precarious balance on the couch, toppling over and twisting his shoulder painfully as he landed onto the floor, the wounds from the beating the previous night flaring up.

Looking up and using his free hand to brush hair out of his face, Reid found himself staring at his cuffed left hand and frowned. The couch leg was fairly slender and the cuff hung around it loosely… Mind racing, Reid sat back as best he could and looked at the couch.

Maybe he could lift it and slid the cuff off…

Hope springing forward in his chest, the young profiler smiled and began trying to lift the heavy couch off the floor with all of his strength.

**~/.\~**

"Anything Garcia?" Prentiss asked as she and the rest of the team walked into the conference room at the BAU and gathered around the technical analyst.

"Well, I've got you a list of twenty-four people who were staying in hotels the day of or just before the first murder and since, and who checked out recently. And I'm working on narrowing down the list of family and friends."

"And?" Hotch asked, frowning and looking over her shoulder at the glowing laptop screen.

"And nothing." Garcia sighed, shaking her head and resisting the urge she had to scream at her computer. "Columbus doesn't even have family in the state of Virginia, let alone Quantico. I'm trying to find friends he could have… but that's going to take more time, Hotch. It's not as easy to track friends as it is family. Especially considering how easily this guy just dropped off the planet after his parole."

Hotch sighed and closed his eyes, fighting back a wave of hopelessness before it could hit him. "Keep working, Garcia." He whispered, praying it wasn't too late to find Reid and Morgan.

**~/.\~**

Morgan was still cursing at Roderick, though not as loud as his voice was hoarse and his energy was draining. The guilt was starting to set in. Roderick had raped Reid to get to him. He was the reason that his lover was forced to endure that. And he could never forgive himself for that.

He didn't even react when Roderick walked back into his line of sight holding the bat in his hands with a devious grin on his face. He simply stared forward with a hateful glare in his eyes, but completely resigned to whatever the bastard might do to him. If he was hurting him, he couldn't be hurting Reid and that was exactly how he saw it.

Roderick seemed slightly disappointed at the lack of reaction to the bat, but didn't let that stop him. He simply smiled in anticipation and lifted the bat, swinging with everything in him and enjoying the sound of it hitting the agent as the small room erupted once again with the sound of screams.

* * *

><p><strong>EN: So… a lot of swearing in this chapter, huh? I figured it was the only way for Derek to really react to Roderick. It's how I would've reacted at least… *grins sheepishly***

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, despite the (slight?) cliffhanger(?)**

**I'm trying , ok! I just… it's too much fun to leave you guys hanging XD**

**Don't forget to review!**


	13. You Wouldn't Dare

**A/N: *grins evilly* Aw! You guys are amazing! I love you! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! Last chapter was a bit emotional, was it not? Lol…**

**This chapter will hopefully not make you guys so ticked at me XD**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash; violence, blood, language**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

><p><span>Ch. 13: You Wouldn't Dare<span>

Morgan's throat felt raw as another scream tore his throat and the bat came down on his already aching shoulder. He wasn't sure how many times Roderick had hit him with the bat, but his entire body was aching from the pain, and stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.

Roderick seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, grinning widely and laughing occasionally while he studied the bruised and beaten FBI agent before him, contemplating where to hit him next.

Morgan didn't react nearly as vocally to the beating as he had to watching the man torture Reid, and he certainly didn't have any of the hostility he had when Roderick told him he'd raped his lover. He simply felt completely empty, resigned to the fact that this was going to happen and there wasn't much of a way around the fact.

Suddenly, Roderick stopped, a small frown on his face, but that same deviant light flickering in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Agent Morgan?" he asked, that snide note in his voice making Morgan growl angrily, his eyes dark and narrowed as he stared at the man he'd arrested all those year ago.

"You're not giving up already are you? What happened to all of that fight I saw five minutes ago?" Roderick sneered.

Morgan glared at him. "If you want fight, let Spencer go and untie me." He said, his voice hard and bitterly angry. "I'll show you exactly how much 'fight' I've got left." There was an unmistakable hate burning behind Derek's dark eyes and Roderick smiled, leaning the bat against his shoulder and studying the other man.

"You're pathetic, you know that, Derek?" Roderick said, swinging the bat down again, not hitting the agent, but just missing his face. Morgan didn't even flinch, he just glared back at him coldly.

"I'm in control here, do you get that? I've got your little boyfriend locked up, you're stuck in that chair and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to either of you. And you can't do anything about it."

"I'm pathetic?" Morgan raised a brow, his jaw hurt and this throat was sore, but he couldn't help but scoff at the other man. "I'm not the one who's beating up people who can't fight back. Why won't you untie me, Rod? Scared?"

Roderick narrowed his eyes, lifting the bat threateningly in his hands. "I'm not scared of some punk-ass cop," he snarled angrily.

Morgan snorted, "Prove it."

Swinging the bat back, Roderick grinned again, a malicious glint in his eyes. "Gladly…"

**~/.\~**

Reid grunted against the strain in his shoulder as he tried for the fourth time to lift the couch up. It was awkward and difficult considering how injured he was, not to mention how constrained he was due to the fact that one hand was still cuffed to the leg of said couch.

Letting out an angry puff of breath, Reid shut his eyes and thought about Derek. About the pain he was going through right at that moment. Swallowing and gathering all of the strength he could, Reid shoved his shoulder and free hand against the edge of the couch with all his might.

At first, nothing really happened, but then: a miracle. The end of the couch lifted, not much, but enough to give the profiler hope. He pushed harder against it, sweat forming on his brow, bruised muscles and already aching bones protesting against the added force, but cooperating all the same as the small leg finally lifted completely off the ground.

A faint, victorious grin on his face, Reid allowed the end of the cuff hold him to the couch to slide free and with a thunderous boom, released the heavy piece of furniture, leaning against with a sigh, shutting his eyes and taking a moment to catch his breath.

**~/.\~**

Derek's lip was bleeding from where his teeth had torn the sensitive flesh open in an attempt to stifle a scream. His entire body was shaking with rage and exhaustion and pain, but his angry eyes stared right back at Roderick, as if daring him to continue.

"Keep hitting me," Morgan told him. "You can't hurt me any more than you already have." He said. "And none of this is going to bring your brother back. No matter how hard you try, Jonny will always be dead."

"Son of a bitch!" Roderick snarled, slamming the bat into Morgan's already bruised torso with a powerful force. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up." He snapped. His eyes were on fire as he glared at the other man.

"You are going to pay for what you did. I'm going to kill your precious little boyfriend and then I'm going to kill you, and there's nothing you can do about it."

**~/.\~**

Reid rolled onto his side, breathing painfully in and out, and managed to pushing himself up on shaky arms, looking around the living room once again.

His eyes fell on the weapons that sat out in the open, ready for him to take and use against the man hurting his lover. He studied the knife, immediately tossing that idea out. As satisfying as it might seem to shove the glittering blade into that bastard, Reid knew he wasn't strong enough or fast enough to do much damage before Roderick stopped him.

Which also left the machete out as well. Not only was he not strong enough to wield it, the weapon was crude and wouldn't do much damage anyway. And that left him the gun that lay on the mantel.

Wincing and groaning, Reid pushed himself up to his feet, fighting the sway of his legs as his knees nearly gave way beneath him. The young profiler grasped the edge of the couch and stumbled forward reaching out a bruised hand and letting his fingers wrap around the cool metal.

The first thing he had to do, was make sure that there were indeed bullets in the gun. Popping the cylinder out, he breathed a sigh of relief that it was full and slid it closed again, turning and making his way to the backdoor he'd entered through the previous night and the tool shed where Roderick was holding Derek prisoner.

**~/.\~**

Roderick was getting a little breathless as he continued swinging the bat at the man in front of him. Morgan had lost the energy to scream and simply grimaced, letting out pained grunts now and then and using every ounce of strength he had to glare at Roderick.

Roderick took a step back, his breath coming in harsh gasps, mixing oddly with the pained breaths of Morgan. "You know what's sad, Derek?" he asked, raising a brow.

Morgan looked at him, his eyes dark and narrow, one swollen slightly and bloodshot from a punch in the face Roderick had delivered earlier. "What?" he asked. "That when this is all over, I'll be at home with my boyfriend and you'll still be a pathetic punk who's all torn up inside because his big, bad brother got shot?"

Roderick growled and slammed the bat into Morgan's kneecap, eliciting one of the loudest screams yet before taking a step back again and glaring. "No. When I'm finished with you, I'm going to go back to your skinny little lover and fuck him until he can't see straight." He sneered.

Morgan let out a vicious scream and lunged forward with all the strength he had left, watching with hate in his eyes as Roderick smiled at him. Neither man heard the door opening and scraping against the concrete as a young man, holding a revolver between aching, bruised finger, slipped inside and took in the scene before with sad, angry eyes.

"I highly doubt that." He said quietly, lifting the revolver and sending an angry, calculated look toward the man holding the baseball bat.

Both men, surprised, turned to face Reid as he stared Roderick down and a long, tense moment passed before Columbus's face broke out in a smile. "You wouldn't dare…"

Reid raised a brow, "Wouldn't I?" he asked.

Before Roderick could answer, the tin room rang out with the sound of a gun being fired and an almost inhuman scream reverberated against the vibrating walls.

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><p><strong>EN: I think (THINK!) that's the last cliffhanger for this story…**

**And YAYZ! Reid got to be hero for once! WOOHOO!**

**So, comeuppance, huh? I wonder what happened after Reid shot the bastard… guess we'll never know… Until tomorrow, when I update again XD**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	14. Go Save My Babies

**A/N: Aw, I heart you guys! Thanks so much for your awesome reviews! And of course, thanks for the favorites adds and alerts as well XD**

**Yep, Reid got to be the hero while Morgan was the so-called "damsel in distress" … though, Reid is still definitely my favorite damsel… lol :D**

**Chapter 14! (things are about to start winding down guys… not too much left, I'm afraid. This story went by fast it seems…)**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash, violence, blood… blah, blah, blah**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><span>Ch. 14: Go Save My Babies<span>

Roderick crumpled to the ground, screaming and hissing like a wounding bear, bright red blood flowering out from his right shoulder. Reid stood near the door still, watching cautiously until he was sure that the man was indeed incapacitated.

He lowered his arm, the gun still clutched between his fingers, and slowly stepped forward.

"Spencer…" Morgan breathed, ignoring Roderick for the moment while he gripped his now bloody shoulder.

As soon as Reid's eyes fell on his beaten lover he forgot about the aches and pain shooting through his entire body and made his way to him, fumbling and tugging at the ropes around his wrists while Morgan started blubbering apologies over the groans and curses of their former captor.

"I'm so sorry, Spencer…" he murmured as Reid managed to loosen the ropes.

"Derek -"

"I got you dragged you into this, if I had listened to you -"

"Derek, I -"

"none of this would've happened.."

The ropes fell free and he pulled his wrists back in front of him, massaging the torn skin and looking up at his lover with pain filled eyes, still apologizing.

"If I had -"

"Derek!" Reid tried to interrupt him, tried to stop him for long enough for them to talk. "Listen to me, please." Derek was silent for a moment and Reid started to continue when Roderick, sitting behind them, suddenly stood up with a loud grunt and swung the bat in his good hand.

"LOOK OUT!"

Reid screamed and grabbed Morgan by the arm, the older agent barely managing to duck out of the way. Derek snarled and whirled around faster than his aching body should have been able to and snatched the bat, the feel of the hard wood stinging as he wrenching it out of the other man's weaker grasp and tossing it aside with a growl.

He stood, his aching knees grateful for the change of position and turned to Roderick with an angry fire in his eyes. Reid watched, slightly worried and not sure entire what to do anymore when Derek let the pent up rage inside of him to be released upon Roderick.

Fists were flying, Roderick found himself on his back, Derek's furious screams echoing around the room with Roderick's cries of pain and the sound of fists snapping against flesh.

"Derek," Reid reached out and tried to grab his shoulder, knowing that as much as Roderick deserved the beating it would only lead to bad things and could go horribly wrong at any moment.

"You fucking piece of trash…" Morgan ignored his lover, slamming another fist into Roderick's already bloody face.

"Derek stop," Reid's thin fingers wrapped around one of Morgan's biceps, trying to pull him away once again. "Listen to me for a second, please."

"I'll fucking kill you," Morgan yanked his arm away from Reid again, his eyes only focused on Roderick beneath him. "You sorry, shit faced, punk ass dick!" Reid was pretty sure Morgan wasn't even fully aware that he was saying anything, let alone swearing loudly and profusely.

There were angry tears in Derek's eyes as he continued muttering and yelling angrily. "You're going to pay for what you did to Spencer! If you think I'm going to forget about you … _touching him _-"

Reid's face paled and he felt sick. Roderick had told him. And Derek had believed it. In a desperate attempt to pull Morgan back to reality, Reid yanked hard on his arm again and said as loud as he could: "He didn't rape me, Derek!"

At first, Morgan didn't appear to have heard him. He continued hitting Roderick and Reid repeated his words over and over again, tugging on his arm repeatedly until slowly, Morgan seemed to understand what he was saying.

Dropping his fists, he turned to stare at Reid, his dark eyes wide and confused. "He… what?"

Reid swallowed and pulled Morgan's arm up, tugging the rest of him up with it. "He didn't rape me, Derek. He just… he said he did, he figured you would react… badly. But he didn't, I swear. He never touched me."

Morgan blinked, a dark haze seeming to clear from his eyes, "He… he didn't?"

"No… And none of this is your fault, Derek. He's the one who kidnapped us. He's the one who killed those families. You had nothing to do with any of it."

On the ground, Roderick made some noise of protest, but it wasn't understandable and the couple ignored him for the moment, knowing he wouldn't be causing many more problems in the state he was in.

"He never touched you? Not at all?" Morgan's voice seemed urgent now, desperate to hear those words, needing to hear that his worst nightmare had indeed not been realized.

"No," Reid shook his head, his eyes locked onto Derek's, wide and a little bit worried, but completely honest. Morgan could see that honesty there, could see that it was true. "He never touched me Derek. I promise. I swear."

Before Reid even realized what had happened, Morgan's arms were around him, enveloping him in a warm, comforting embrace, lips moving against his with an eagerness and tenderness and at the same time a desperate need for contact, for relief of all the pent up emotions…

Reid closed his eyes and let his lover lead the kiss, getting lost in the kiss for a moment, happy in the brief little pocket of bliss-filled eternity before they had to come back down reality and the pain and complications that came with it.

**~/.\~**

Hotch was sitting at the conference table, reading over the files again, Rossi, JJ and Prentiss doing the same, trying to find something that could help them while Garcia hacked people's lives and tried to find someone Roderick was connected to in some way. Someone that owned a house or an apartment or… something that would be able to hide two federal agents.

"I've got something!" Garcia suddenly chirped, her eyes sparkling with hope.

The three agents' heads snapped up in her direction. "What?" Hotch demanded.

"Roderick has a half-sister living hear in Virginia. She actually doesn't live that far outside of Quantico in a small home that was owned by his step-father."

"Address…" Hotch demanded, standing up and checking to make sure his clip was full in his gun.

"…She's out of the country," Garcia frowned after another second.

"What?" JJ frowned at the technical analyst.

"According to plane tickets, passport records and credit card receipts, Ella Damon is in France at the moment… on her honeymoon."

"He could still be using her house," Rossi pointed out. "If he knew about and knew she wasn't going to be in the country, all the better."

She was about to give them the address a second time when Hotch's dented, scratched up cell phone started buzzing and he clutched it to his ear.

"Hotchner." He answered in a clipped, angry voice. "What? Where? Are you alright? Are you sure? We're on our way."

He snapped the phone shut. "That was Reid and Morgan," he said. "You were right Garcia, I need that address now. They're injured, but Roderick is shot. I need an ambulance on the way there."

"On it," Garcia said, already moving, a faintly hopeful smile on her face, thrilled that her boys were finally coming home again. Not so happy that Roderick was still alive, but at least the fact that they had managed to call meant they had taught that bastard a lesson about messing with Penelope Garcia's favorite boys.

She rattled off the address quickly, making sure to send it to Hotch's phone as well before calling the paramedics. "Go save my babies…" she whispered as the agents rushed out of the room, hope swelling in their chests, fear trickling away quickly as they hopped into their SUVs and hurried to rescue their friends.

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><p><strong>AN: … I kept my promise! That was totally NOT cliffhanger, see? XD**

**I hate these parts of the stories… when it's almost over. *sobs* I feel like this story is going by way too fast… **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was a bit emotional but Morgan and Reid actually got to kiss! YAY! I needed that, lol :D**

**Don't forget to review!**


	15. Shut Up And Drive

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews guys! I heart you! XD**

**Ah, this story is coming to an end it seems…**

**That's right, this is the LAST CHAPTER! *sobs sadly* Ima miss this story…**

**Now I've got to start planning a sequel, lol :D**

**WARNING: Morgan/Reid slash**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><span>Ch. 15: Shut Up And Drive<span>

Hotch wasn't sure if he felt more relieved or angry when he saw Reid and Morgan standing together outside of a small tool shed in back of the quaint looking home. Their arms were wrapped around each other, and he would almost bet it had as much to do with needing help standing up as it did with wanting to be close. They were alive, at least. But Roderick had damn sure done a number on them.

Roderick must've been inside the small tin building. Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss and JJ rushed toward their clearly injured friends. "Are you alright?" JJ demanded immediately, her keen blue eyes sweeping over every bruised or bleeding part of them.

"We're fine," Morgan answered, "A little banged up… Reid's got some bruised ribs and I think I sprained my wrist…" he lifted his left hand, the wrist swollen and bruised.

"We've got a couple of ambulances waiting up front," Hotch told them. "You two go with one of them and get checked out."

"Hotch, I'm -"

"That's an order, Morgan." Hotch's voice left no room for argument and the two agents nodded.

"Is Columbus in here?"

"Yeah… he's been shot. He's bleeding pretty bad." Morgan said, throwing a glare toward the small building. "Sounds like he's in a lot of pain."

"Bastard deserves it," Prentiss said, her eyes lingering on Reid for a moment, hard and angry.

Hotch quickly called over the paramedics with a waiting gurney and they rushed inside to check on the injured murderer. He offered one more look toward his agents, motioning for them to get going.

**~/.\~**

Reid winced as the doctor in the hospital looked him over carefully. Morgan was standing over him, his eyes filled with worry. The rest of the team was out in the waiting room, being ordered to wait while they examined them. Morgan had gotten his wrist looked at, suffered through stitches on his lower lip and then pushed the doctor's away, giving anyone who tried to stop him a hateful glare as he made his way to his lover.

"Is he alright?" he asked nervously.

"Agent Morgan, please." The doctor sighed, "Try and be patient, alright?"

Reid just rolled his eyes at the other man. "Derek, go and wait outside. I'm fine."

Morgan shot him a faint smirk, "Not a chance, Pretty Boy. Not until I know you're alright."

Reid sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. Then please be quiet and let the doctor work." He told him, shooting him a smirk of his own. The older agent rolled his eyes but took a small step away from the table and watched intently while the doctor thanked Reid and continued his examination.

Morgan felt rage boil in his chest all over again when he caught sight of the ugly bruises on Spencer's torso, dark patches of swollen skin standing out like stains on Reid's pale chest. Roderick had done that to him. He wished he'd beaten him a lot more than he had, thinking about what he'd done. Maybe used that damn bat on him a few good times.

He snapped out of his bloody, vengeful thoughts when the doctor looked up, "Well, you've got a couple of bruised ribs, Agent Reid. But luckily, nothing's broken. You're going to be sore for a while to come and I can give you some pain medication if you'd like… "

"I don't think I'll need it," Reid quickly rejected the offer, shaking his head.

The doctor looked surprised, but continued anyway, well aware of Derek's eyes boring into him as he spoke. "You don't seem to have a concussion, but you gums are pretty bruised and you should probably see your dentist to make sure there wasn't any other damage done. You jaw took a bad hit, but it's not broken. Chewing may be painful and difficult for a while though, so try to eat soft foods, ok?"

Reid nodded, absently rubbing his aching jaw as he thought about that particular hit. He was glad it hadn't done more damage than it could have.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"…I suppose. Just take it easy for the next few days, alright? And if you feel any discomfort or pain in your lower abdomen, I want you to come straight here, Agent. We didn't find any damage to your internal organs, but we can't be too careful, alright?"

Reid nodded and slid down from the table, "I understand. Thank you doctor." He said, offering the man a grateful smile before turning to face his lover. "Satisfied?" he asked, raising a brow.

Morgan frowned, seeming to think it over for a moment before nodding. "For now."

**~/.\~**

As they walked into the waiting room, bruised and aching, they were attacked by the colorful ball of energy known as Penelope Garcia. She wrapped her arms around both of them, not minding their injuries, just happy to see them still alive.

She had happy tears in her eyes as she smiled at them and pulled away. "I swear, if you two don't stop scaring me like this I'm going to have to hurt you." She told them, her voice quavering a bit, but carrying her usual Garcia perkiness nonetheless.

"We're sorry, Baby Girl." Morgan smiled at her, his hand sliding into Reid's as he tugged the younger man closer to him. "We didn't mean to get kidnapped by the crazy gang-banger. It just happened."

She smirked at him, swatting his arm playfully and rolling her eyes.

"Derek Morgan, now is not the time for your sarcasm." She chastised him. He made a look of mock apology and she narrowed her eyes at him for a moment.

"Any news about Roderick?" Morgan asked, glancing over at the rest of the team.

"He's in surgery now," Rossi said.

"The bullet was stuck in his shoulder blade." Hotch added, "They're having a bit of trouble getting it out, but he'll survive."

"Bastard," Garcia muttered under her breath.

"Still," Prentiss mused. "He was beat up pretty bad," her eyes lingered on Morgan for a moment, small spark glittering there. "And the wound is going to give him hell for a long time to come. Physical therapy's going to be hell for him; he'll be in rehab the better part of a year."

JJ smiled slightly, "Nice shot, Spence."

Reid's faced heated a little, a faint pink color, but he shrugged.

"And he is going to back to prison too," Rossi added, "So, all in all, I suppose he got what he deserved."

"Not even close," Garcia shook her head. "That bastard deserves to be skinned alive and roasted for what he did to my boys."

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Garcia." Hotch murmured lightly, a faint smile on his face for the first time in days as the rest of the team laughed, happy that their little family was still intact after all the damage that had been done.

**~/.\~**

They celebrated having everyone back together with a small party at Rossi's house after they left the hospital. Rossi, the reluctant host, allowed Prentiss, JJ and Garcia to use the pool and he and Hotch barbecued outside in the fading afternoon light while Reid and Morgan sat on the deck, talking and joking with the rest of the team.

Once everything was ready, the girls got out of the pool, telling Hotch and Rossi that they _would _be joining them after they ate. They didn't ask Reid or Morgan, knowing that neither of them was quite up to swimming, though Garcia did insist that once the two were more properly healed they would have another party. Any excuse to get Derek out of his shirt.

Drying her damp hair on a towel, Prentiss grinned at Rossi from across the table sitting on the deck. "We are definitely doing this again, Rossi." She said. "I can't believe you held back on us for so long."

The older profiler groaned, making face. "I really wish I'd never said anything about this now…" he muttered.

Hotch smiled, "It had to come out sometime, Dave. Just be glad they aren't demanding a sleepover."

After they were finished eating, the sun was just setting and the sky was lighting up a brilliant orange and pink color. Reid and Morgan sat in lounge chairs near the pool while Hotch and Rossi reluctantly joined the girls and yelled whenever one of them splashed them playfully.

"That's a beautiful sight isn't it, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked, glancing over to see Reid staring at the sunset with out of focus eyes.

"Hmm?" Reid turned to look at him, those wide brown eyes somehow still filled with innocence and naïveté.

Morgan chuckled, shaking his head. "Not as beautiful as you though…"

Reid looked slightly confused, his brows coming down over his eyes and Morgan grinned, leaning over and giving him a soft, gentle kiss, mindful of the stitches in his own lips and the bruises that were still sore.

Reid smiled slightly, deciding that it didn't matter what Derek was talking about, and leaned into the kiss further, parting his lips and allowing his tongue to slip inside and tangle with his own.

"WOO! Sexy!" Garcia called from the pool, causing Reid to blush. He started to pull away but Morgan reached over and caught him gently around the neck. "Forget about them…" he murmured against his soft lips. "Right now there's only you and me…"

Reid smirked slightly, returning the brief kiss. "You realize how corny that sounded, right?"

Morgan snorted, "Shut up." He muttered, pulling away.

"Aw, c'mon!" Prentiss teased. "We were watching that!"

"Thank you," Hotch said, shaking his head. "I was worried we were going to have to pull you two apart…"

"Could you two refrain from doing that in my house?" Rossi asked. "Please?"

"But we're not _in _your house, Rossi." Morgan shot back, smirking.

Rossi rolled his eyes and splashed water in his direction, laughing when Morgan swore and jerked out of the way to avoid getting soaked.

"Ignore them," JJ said, smiling. "They're just jealous because no one's ever kissed them like that. …And Prentiss and Garcia are just pervs."

"Ah, Jayje, don't be like that. You know you were enjoying the view as much as we were."

"I'll never understand women…" Rossi muttered.

"Which is why you've been married three times…" Prentiss informed him with a sly smirk on her face.

Reid was blushing slightly, trying to ignore the immature arguing. Morgan rolled his eyes, sighing. "I think Spencer and I are gonna head home…" he announced, standing and stretching. Reid was quick to follow his example, clumsily dodging a blast of water from Prentiss's direction.

"Tired already Morgan?" Prentiss teased.

"Of you people? Yes." Morgan nodded with a grin, taking Reid's hand.

"Remember to use protection!" Garcia called after them. Reid winced and Morgan shook his head. "And take some pictures for me!"

Morgan chuckled, watching Reid's face, a deep shade of red now as they headed out to his SUV. Climbing in, he turned to his lover and took his hand in his.

"So… I guess 'taking it easy' means we can't have sex tonight?" he asked, glancing at him.

Reid sighed and rolled his eyes at him. "Derek, shut up and drive."

Morgan grinned widely, "Yes, sir." He teased, releasing his hand and cranking up the SUV, happily driving off into the sunset with his boyfriend like some twisted cliché in an old romance move…

**End**

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><p><strong>EN: Couldn't resist it, it was too tempting, curse those stupid clichés… lol :D**

**So, that's it for now guys! Hope you enjoyed the story! There will be a sequel, as always! Look out for "Dads For A Day" coming soon! A much more lighthearted fic, probably won't be very long…**

**Thank you for all of your reviews and support! XD**

**Don't forget to review!**


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